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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



■ BIBLE INSPIRATION; 



PLENARY AND VERBAL. 



BY 

W. W. GARDNER, D. D., 

AUTHOR OF " CHURCH COMMUNION," " MISSILES OF TRUTH," ETC. 






PHILADELPHIA I 

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 
1420 Chestnut Street. 



.Gr3 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1886, by the 

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



PREFATORY NOTE. 



The following Essay on Bible Inspiration was read 
before the Bethel Baptist Minister and Deacon's 
Meeting of Southern Kentucky, in 1873, and after free 
criticism, unanimously requested for publication in per- 
manent form. It was also repeated by invitation before 
the Minister's Meeting of the General Association 
of East Tennessee, in October, 1874, and after much 
criticism, unanimously endorsed by that body. When it 
was requested for publication, the author was performing 
the double labor of a pastor, and Professor of Theology, 
in Bethel College, Russell ville, Kentucky, and could not 
command the time to prepare it for the press. Hence it 
was laid aside until the spring of 1884, when it was ex- 
panded into its present form. Free use was made of the 
works of Carson, Graussen, Lee, Westcott, and other writers 
on Inspiration, and due credit given. It claims to have a 
character of its own, and is believed to present the true 
theory of Bible Inspiration in a popular form. The times 
demand something on this vital subject, and it is hoped 
that this short treatise may, by the divine blessing, be 
useful to young preachers especially, and to Bible readers 

generally. 

W. W. Gardner. 

Bardstown, Kentucky, July 4, 1884. 



BIBLE INSPIRATION: 

PLENARY AND VERBAL. 



The Inspiration of the Scriptures is a subject of tran- 
scendent importance. It is a fundamental article of that 
faith which was once delivered to the saints, for which 
we are required to contend earnestly. With this car- 
dinal doctrine, our holy religion must stand or fall. It 
settles the question whether or not the Bible is the 
word of God. Suffer me, then, to invite your serious 
attention to the Nature and Proofs of Inspiration, 
and to the most plausible Objections to the doctrine. 
And as the subject is vast, I can give but an outline 
of it in this essay. - 

THE NATUKE OF BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

What is it? 

I. Inspiration is distinct from Revelation, 
They differ in their very nature. Kevelation is a 
direct communication from God of such knowledge as 
man either could not of himself attain, or which he did 
not in fact possess. We have a striking illustration of 
this in 2 Kings iv. 27. 



6 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

Inspiration, on the other hand, consists in that actu- 
ating, controlling, and guiding influence of the Holy 
Spirit, under which God's chosen messengers spoke and 
wrote the original Scriptures. In short, it denotes that 
extraordinary divine influence, under the direction and 
control of which all parts of the original Scriptures 
were recorded, whether they be direct revelations or 
mere historical facts. So that the entire Bible and 
every part of it was written by Inspiration, and there- 
fore is true. 

Now, Inspiration pertains, not so much to the writers, 
as to their writings. Accordingly, says Paul: "All 
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profit- 
able," etc. 2 Tim. iii. 16. The meaning of this passage 
is the same, whether it be rendered, "All Scripture is 
inspired by God " (Revised Version), or, " All Scripture 
is given by inspiration of God." In both, the apostle 
equally attests the fact that all Scripture is divinely 
inspired. Inspiration, therefore, is to be viewed rather 
in the Book, than in the men ; the Book was inspired 
for all time, the men merely for the time being. Most 
of the errors on this subject have arisen from viewing 
inspiration in the writers, rather than in their writings. 

In the language of the late Dr. Carson : " The great 
mistake on this subject has arisen from considering 
inspiration as it respects the inspired persons; whereas 
the inspiration in 2 Tim. iii. 16, respects the things 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 7 

written. Now, if every part of a writing is given by 
inspiration, no part of it can be uninspired, or differ- 
ently inspired. In the relation of the most ordinary 
fact, God must have given every word of the account, 
else it cannot be said to be given by his inspiration. 
Every part of it is the word of God, and the inspi- 
ration that records the deepest mysteries cannot go 
beyond this. Inspiration, as it respects the inspired 
persons, might have many degrees. But the question is 
not whether one man may not have been more inspired 
than another ; it is whether one part of Scripture is more 
inspired than another. The question is independent 
even of the truth or falsehood of the thing recorded 
by inspiration. The inspiration of the account of Satan's 
lies in deceiving our first parents, is as great as that 
which records the promise, ' The seed of the woman shall 
bruise the head of the serpent/ ... It is not said that the 
sacred writers were inspired with knowledge which they 
previously possessed. But it is said that their accounts of 
everything recorded by them are given by inspiration; 
and this is as true with respect to things previously known 
by them, as it is with respect to things communicated by 
revelation." " Carson on Inspiration," pp. 229, 230. 

Hence it is evident that Inspiration and Revelation 
are distinct in their very nature. So distinct are they, 
that the one may exist without the other. For instance, 
the Patriarchs received revelations, but were not inspired 



8 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

to record, them. On the other hand, Mark and Luke 
were inspired to record their Gospels ; but we are not 
informed that they ever received a revelation. Indeed, 
this distinction is radical ; for while it is true that Scrip- 
ture in all its parts is inspired, it is not true that all its 
contents are revelations ; for it consists partly of historical 
incidents before known to the writers. Yet the record 
of all is equally inspired, and hence equally true. The 
narrative portions of the Bible, therefore, whether con- 
tained in the historical books of the Old Testament, or 
in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, are to be looked 
upon as stamped with the same infallible truth as the 
account of supernatural revelations. Indeed, historical 
facts formed the basis of the New Testament record ; 
and, under divine influence, each writer presented those 
facts in his own independent narrative. Direct revela- 
tions formed the basis of the prophetical books; but 
such revelations, when once received, correspond to 
historical narratives, and become the groundwork of the 
prophetic record, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 
Moreover, the gift of Inspiration was required equally 
by those who had received revelations, as by those who 
had not received them. In the former case, Inspiration 
was necessary, not only to enable the sacred writer to 
apprehend and express the divine communications cor- 
rectly, but also to enable him to record them faithfully 
and truly long after they had been received. When 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 9 

once a revelation had been received and publicly an- 
nounced, it then became as much a matter of history as 
any natural event recorded in the Bible. Now we know 
that many things contained in the Scriptures were not 
committed to writing for years after they occurred, as 
for example,, the Mosaic account of creation. In all 
such cases, Inspiration was indispensable, in order both 
to bring the original revelation before the mind of the 
writer in its purity, and to enable him to record it with 
infallible accuracy. The same was equally true of mere 
historical events. Hence Jesus promised his apostles and 
evangelists that the Holy Spirit should bring all things 
to their remembrance, whatsoever he had taught them, as 
well as show them things to come. 

But while Inspiration and Revelation are thus dis- 
tinct in their nature, still a fixed and necessary relation 
subsists between them. Revelation without Inspiration 
would be comparatively useless as an authoritative rule 
of faith and practice; for without the latter there would 
be no certainty that the former had been handed down 
to us correctly. But once establish the truth of Inspira- 
tion, and the question is settled forever that we have the 
pure word of God in the original Scriptures, though we 
might not be able to trace the history of its transmission 
with unerring certainty. In short, Inspiration insures 
and preserves the integrity of the sacred record, and 
banishes every doubt as to the truth of the Bible. 



10 BIBLE INSPIKATION. 

Again, Inspiration and Revelation differ in their 
sources, as well as in their nature. Now God has 
revealed himself by act and by word — by act in creation, 
and by word in the Scriptures ; and in both Jesus Christ 
was the efficient Agent. (See John i. 1-3 ; Col. i. 16.) 
In the divine economy, the Second Person in the God- 
head is the source of all Revelation, while the Third 
Person is the source of all Inspiration. In all ages and 
under all dispensations, the Eternal Word has been the 
Revealer, and the Eternal Spirit the Inspirer of all 
Scripture truth. These two great facts constitute the 
pillars upon which must rest the true theory respecting 
the divine origin and inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. 
Accordingly, the sacred writers clearly mark this dis- 
tinction. They invariably ascribe Revelation to Jesus 
Christ, and Inspiration to the Holy Spirit. 

For instance, Peter, in referring to the source of Inspi- 
ration, says : " Prophecy came not in old time by the will 
of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved 
by the Holy Ghost" 2 Peter i. 21. And John, in speaking 
of the source of Revelation, denominates the Scriptures 
— " the Revelation of Jesus Christ" Rev. i. 1. Both the 
Moral and the Ceremonial laws, as well as the gospel, were 
given by Jesus Christ. (Comp. Ps. lxviii. 18 with Eph. 
iv. 8.) He engraved the Decalogue upon the tables 
of stone with his own hand, and gave the ceremonial law 
through augels; and then guided Israel through the 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 11 

wilderness by his presence. (See Acts vii. 30-34, 37, 
38 ; comp. 1 Cor. x. 4-9.) 

Revelation is an all-comprehending system, whose 
centre is Christ, from whom all divine comumnications 
to man have proceeded. He is not only the centre, but 
the source of all Revelation, and not merely the channel 
through which it flowed. He was " God manifested in 
the flesh"— "the Way, and the Truth, and the Life." 1 
Tim. iii. 16 ; John xiv. 6. In the New Testament this 
fact is most obvious. Here we see the Incarnate Word 
himself, no longer under the mysterious character of 
" The Angel of Jehovah" (Gen. xvi. 9-11 ; xxii. 11, 12; 
Ex. iii. 7), but in his own proper person, fully revealing 
the divine will which had been partially disclosed 
through "all his holy prophets since the world began." 
Acts iii. 21. He did not, indeed, complete the canon 
of Revelation while on earth. When about to ascend 
up where he was before, Jesus said to his chosen dis- 
ciples : " I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye 
cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when the Spirit of 
truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he 
shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall 
hear, that shall he speak : and he will show you things 
to come. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of 
mine, and shall show it unto you." John xvi. 12-14. 

Hence we see that the entire system of revealed 
truth proceeded from Jesus Christ, as the author and 



12 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

source of all Revelation ; while the sacred writers were 
guided and preserved from errors in recording them by 
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who brought all things 
to their remembrance and showed them things to come. 
Accordingly, our Lord said : " No man knoweth who 
the Son is, but the Father ; and who the Father is, but 
the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him." 
Luke x. 22. And Paul, in referring td the source of his 
knowledge of divine truth, says : " I neither received it 
of man, neither w r as I taught it, but by the revelation of 
Jesus Christ " (Gal. i. 12) ; while he also specifies the 
agency by which he and his inspired colleagues received 
revelations — " God hath revealed them unto us by his 
Spirits 1 Cor. ii. 10. 

Hence it is evident that Revelation and Inspiration 
differ essentially in their sources — the one being the 
peculiar function of Jesus Christ, and the other being 
the peculiar function of the Holy Spirit; and this differ- 
ence is specific, and not one of degree, as some suppose. 

Now this distinction between Inspiration and Revela- 
tion is one of great practical importance, and satisfac- 
torily accounts for the fact, that while some portions of 
Scripture are pure revelations, and other portions mere 
historical incidents, still the whole Scripture record is 
divinely inspired, and hence all equally true and equally 
"the word of God:' While Paul declares, therefore, 
that "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 13 

is profitable' 7 John opens his First Epistle by saying: 
" That which was from the beginning, — that which we • 
have seen and heard, declare we unto you" Thus Inspi- 
ration establishes the absolute truthfulness of all parts 
of the Scripture record, whether they be matters of 
direct revelation, or mere historical facts ; for it should be 
ever borne in mind that Inspiration extends alike to all 
parts of Scripture, and stamps the whole Bible as the 
word of God in the highest sense of the term. Inspira- 
tion does not vouch for the truth or falsity of what is 
recorded, for it records Satan's lies; but it does vouch 
for the correctness of the record itself and insures its 
truthfulness, as a faithful record. 

Hence we see that Inspiration is essentially distinct 
from Revelation, both as to its nature and source, though 
they are intimately related to each other in the Scriptures. 

II. Inspiration is distinct from the ordinary influences 
of the Holy Spirit. 

They differ in several important respects. The ordi- 
nary influences of the Holy Spirit have been enjoyed 
by believers in all ages; Inspiration was enjoyed only 
by God's chosen messengers. The one is ordinary and 
permanent: the other was extraordinary and temporary, 
like the gift of miracles. The former, though constant, 
varies in degree according to our faith and faithfulness; 
the latter was only occasional, and did, not admit of de- 
grees. None but the truly pious enjoy the ordinary in- 



14 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

fluences of the Holy Spirit; but Inspiration, like the 
gift of prophecy, was in no sense dependent on the per- 
sonal holiness of those who received it. Nor was Inspi- 
ration subject to the will of the sacred writers. Like 
Prophecy, it " came not by the will of man." Indeed, 
it often led them contrary to their own wills. For ex- 
ample, Paul, at one time, purposed to preach the gospel 
in Asia, but " was forbidden of the Holy Ghost " ; and 
he "attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suf- 
fered him not" (Acts xvi. 6-10) at that time. Inspi- 
ration was enjoyed and exercised according to the sov- 
ereign will of God. 

The sacred writers, in common with all believers, en- 
joyed the ordinary influences of the Holy Spirit at all 
times, but they were inspired only at intervals — only 
when officially declaring and recording the word of God. 
On all other occasions they enjoyed the same kind of 
spiritual influence that other Christians enjoyed, and were 
as fallible as other ministers of equal piety — " men of 
like passions as ourselves." Acts xiv. 15. They carried 
their treasure " in earthen vessels." 2 Cor. iv. 7. Hence 
Peter, on one occasion, denied his Lord with oaths (Matt, 
xxvi. 69-75), and, on another occasion, dissembled at An- 
tioch and was blamable (Gal. ii. 11-13.) ; while Barnabas 
and Paul had a sharp contention about John Mark, and 
thenceforth separated in their labors. Acts xv. 36-41. 
But when acting under the influence of Inspiration, 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 15 

there was neither imperfection in their conduct nor fal- 
libility in their teaching or writing. The Holy Spirit 
exercised an absolute control over their acts and words 
and pens on such occasions. Hence the absence of 
personal feeling and the suppression of personal emo- 
tion throughout the Scripture narrative ; every tendency 
which is merely human being neutralized and suppressed. 
But it was only when acting in their official capacity 
as inspired teachers and writers, that our blessed Lord 
promised them the unerring guidance of his Holy 
Spirit. Nor do they ever claim infallibility in any other 
capacity. The Inspiration of the sacred writers, therefore, 
was wholly objective, and designed to furnish mankind 
with a pure Bible; while the ordinary influences of the 
Holy Spirit are altogether subjective, and designed to 
promote the comfort and sanctification of individual 
Christians. 

This distinction is radical ; and it at once shows the 
absurdity of the theory of degrees in Inspiration, advo- 
cated by Bishop Wilson, Dr. John Dick, and others. 
Doubtless the sacred writers, in common with their fel- 
low Christians, enjoyed divine direction, elevation, and 
superintendence, but these do not constitute Inspiration. 
The gift of Inspiration was extraordinary, and hence as 
distinct from the ordinary influences of the Holy Spirit 
as was the gift of miracles. Now there are degrees in 
these ordinary influences of the Spirit, but there are no 



16 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

degrees in Inspiration. " All Scripture is given by inspi- 
ration of God and is profitable," because all is equally 
inspired, and hence equally true. Paul's directions to 
Timothy respecting his cloak left at Troas, though less 
important, contain as much inspiration as his profoundest 
doctrines. Even the sayings of wicked men and of 
devils are recorded by inspiration, as truly as the say- 
ings of Christ himself. There is nothing in Scripture, 
however unimportant in itself, that is not inspired, and 
inspired in precisely the same sense as the most import- 
ant. Hence we see that Inspiration is distinct from the 
ordinary influences of the Holy Spirit, and ceased when 
its great object was accomplished, while the gracious in- 
fluences of the Spirit will continue to the end of time. 

III. Inspiration combines divine agency with human 
instrumentality in one harmonious whole. 

This is an unquestionable fact, however it may be 
explained. On the one hand, God has given us a reve- 
lation of his character and will ; on the other hand, he 
has expressed it in human language and recorded it by 
men. Hence the Bible has both a divine and human 
aspect, while it is all the word of God. 

Yet this fact has given rise to two opposite theories of 
Inspiration equally remote from the truth. One theory 
virtually excludes divine agency by giving undue promi- 
nence to human instrumentality ; the other practically 
ignores human instrumentality by dwelling too exclu- 



BIBLE INSPIEATION. 17 

sively upon divine agency. But neither of these theories 
satisfies the conditions of revelation, or accounts for the 
obvious facts of Scripture. Hence some have been led 
to deny all Inspiration, while others have virtually ex- 
plained it away. 

But the truth on this subject is found midway between 
these extremes. According to the true theory of Inspi- 
ration, divine agency and human instrumentality are in- 
separably blended together in one harmonious whole in 
revelation ; and what God hath joined together, let not 
man separate. In whatever light we view the Scrip- 
tures, we are bound to recognize the combination of 
divine influence with human utterance ; and both are 
necessary to a revelation from God to man. Without 
divine agency, the Bible could not bo. the word of God; 
without human instrumentality, it would not be intelli- 
gible to man. As in nature, so in revelation, God 
accomplishes his ends by the use of appropriate means. 
Here, the end i3 the communication of divine truth to 
man ; while the means consist in exhibiting that truth in 
accordance with man's nature. That man may be able 
to grasp the truth, it must be allied to human concep- 
tions, and clothed in human language. Thought is 
wedded to language as necessarily as the soul is to the 
body. Indeed, language is a condition of our being, 
fixing the conception as well as the communication of 
thought. Without language the visions of the prophet 



18 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

would have been confused shadows, but with it they 
became instructive lessons. It was not enough that 
divine truth should be revealed to the inspired teacher, 
he must be able to express it in intelligible language. 
And when thus expressed, human agency became an 
integral part of the divine message. 

Now, in order to accomplish this object, the Author of 
revelation selected his own agents; and the ground of 
his choice was clearly their natural and acquired fitness 
for the work. In the providence of God, Moses was 
skilled in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and Paul 
was thoroughly instructed, first in in the university at 
Tarsus, and then in the theological school at Jerusalem, 
so that he could address both Jews and Gentiles in the 
words of their own learned writers. Westcott's Introduc- 
tion, pp. 30-40. 

Even the traits of individual character and pecul- 
iarities of thought and style displayed in the composition 
of Scripture, were essential to the perfect exhibition of 
the truth. The Holy Spirit did not employ the sacred 
writers as lifeless machines, but as rational agents, whose 
genius, natural temperament, and personal characteristics 
were blended and combined with his all-controlling and 
guiding influence. Indeed, it was only by calling into 
active exercise the personal peculiarities of the several 
writers that divine truth could be adapted to human 
comprehension and brought home to the hearts of man- 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 19 

kind. Thus the harmonious combination of divine 
influence with human agency in revelation, preserves 
absolute truthfulness with perfect adaptation and intel- 
ligibility; and renders the language as perfect as the 
thought. And thus revelation reflects the image of its 
Incarnated Author, in whom the divine and human 
exist in the highest form and in the most perfect 
union. 

It is a leading feature of this theory of Inspiration, 
that the Holy Spirit employed man's faculties in accord- 
ance with their natural laws, and operated by, and 
through, and with the sacred writers as active, conscious 
agents. He acted as an infinitely rational Agent on 
finitely rational subjects, in accordance with the laws of 
mind. Thus, humanity, instead of being paralyzed and 
suppressed, became an integral part of the agency em- 
ployed ; and hence the peculiar type of each writer's 
mind is enstamped upon his writings. Divine influence 
embraced the entire activity and resources of the human 
agents, using their faculties, knowledge, and style at 
pleasure, and rendering their very language the word of 
God. Each writer, under the actuating and controlling 
influence of the Holy Spirit, made use of all the infor- 
mation in his possession, whether supplied by natural 
means or by direct revelation; This fact, as we have 
seen, forms the basis of the distinction between Inspira- 
tion and Revelation. Many things recorded in the 



20 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

Scriptures are not matters of Revelation ; but this in no 
sense invalidates the truth that the entire record is 
inspired, and that everything in the Bible is the word 
of God, and has been transmitted to us under the influ- 
ence of Inspiration. The Holy Spirit provided that 
each and every portion of Scripture should convey such 
information as best subserved the divine purpose and 
human good, irrespective of the character of that infor- 
mation—whether it consisted of known historical facts, 
or pure revelations from God. 

Nor are we to suppose that Inspiration extended 
merely to the doctrines and facts recorded by the sacred 
writers. We find the same divine guidance and control 
claimed for the language which they employed. "Which 
things we speak," says Paul, "not in the words which 
man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teach- 
eth" 1 Cor. ii. 13. Thus we see that divine influence 
and human agency were not simply concurrent, but abso- 
lutely amalgamated and combined into one distinct energy 
in revelation, so that Paul could say to the Thessalonians : 
" When ye received the word of God which ye heard of 
us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in 
truth, the word of God" 1 Thess. ii. 13. 

The harmonious blending of the divine and human 
intelligence in the composition of Scripture, is distinctly 
recognized by Christ and his apostles. They frequently 
quote from the Old Testament and attribute the words 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 21 

interchangeably to God and to the sacred writers. For 
instance, Matthew represents Jesus as quoting the 
Fourth Commandment thus : " God commanded, say- 
ing, Honor thy father and thy mother" (Matt. xv. 4); 
while Mark records the parallel passage as follows : 
" For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother." 
Mark vii. 10. And Paul applied the language of 
prophecy to the Jews at Rome thus : " Well spake the 
Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet," etc. (Acts xxviii. 
25), while John quotes the same passage as follows: 
"These things said Esaias/ 9 etc. John' xii. 41. Hence 
the Evangelist could say of prophecy in general : " All 
this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was 
spoken of the Lord by the prophet." Matt. i. 22. No 
artificial line of distinction, therefore, can be drawn 
between divine agency and human instrumentality in 
revelation, any more than between light and heat in the 
sun. They are so combined as to constitute one and the 
same energy. 

In the New Testament, this harmonious blending of 
the divine and human intelligence is expressly declared. 
For instance, Jesus said to his apostles : " Ye are wit- 
nesses of these things ; and behold, I send the promise of 
my Father upon you." Luke xxiv. 48, 49. And Peter 
declares the fulfillment of this promise: " We are his 
witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost." 
Acts v. 32. Thus we have the joint testimony of the 



22 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

Holy Spirit and of the sacred writers to the fulfillment 
of another promise of the Saviour : " The Comforter, 
whom I will send unto you from the Father, shall testify 
of me, and ye also shall bear witness" (John xv. 26, 27); 
a pledge to which Peter evidently alludes when he 
declares of himself and his inspired colleagues, that they 
" preached the gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down 
from heaven." 1 Peter i. 12. All such passages clearly 
teach, that the Holy Spirit and the apostles conjointly 
bore testimony to the truth of the gospel, and co-operated 
in the formation of the New Testament Scriptures; in 
other words, that the Holy Spirit operated by and 
through and with the agency of Christ's chosen witnesses, 
in perfect harmony with the laws of their nature. 
Moreover, such expressions illustrate the fact that God, 
even in bestowing the gift of Inspiration, made use of 
those natural means whereby the inspired testimony of 
his servants should have the utmost credibility which 
uninspired human testimony could claim. Hence it is 
that the preaching of the apostles is invariably repre- 
sented in the New Testament as infallible testimony, and 
that peculiar importance is attached to the fact of their 
having been eye-witnesses of the events of Christ's life. 
In proof of this, see Acts ii. 32 ; iii. 15 ; x. 39 ; 1 John 
i. 1-3 ; 2 Peter i. 16-18; Rev. i. 2. Hence Paul appeals 
to the fact that he had seen Jesus Christ as proof of his 
apostleship. 1 Cor. ix. 1. Now, if we combine with this 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 23 

the statement of James, by which he prefaced the deci- 
sion of the council at Jerusalem, "It seemed good to 
the Holy Ghost and to us " (Acts xv. 28), — the conclusion 
is strengthened, that there was a perfectly harmonious 
blending of the divine and the human intelligences in 
the composition of the Holy Scriptures. Thus the human 
testimony of the sacred writers was exalted into divine 
testimony by the co-operation and Inspiration of the 
Spirit of God, in perfect accordance with the laws of 
mind. 

The co-existence of divine agency and human instru- 
mentality in revelation accounts for the fact, that on 
every page of Scripture we perceive evident traces of 
the individuality and personal characteristics of the 
different writers. Even when acting as the official 
organs of the Holy Spirit, the sacred writers exhibit 
styles quite dissimilar — they pursue different trains of 
thought, view the same truth from different points of 
view, and present it in different lights : such individual 
peculiarities being, in fact, the means which God has 
wisely employed to give a human coloring to his truth, 
and to adapt it to the various capacities and wants of 
mankind. Thus divine truth, in a sense, became incar- 
nate. Hence the logical mind of Paul ; the practical 
temperament of James ; the chastened boldness of Peter ; 
and the affectionate and loving heart of John, — are all 
distinct in their respective writings, and were actively 



24 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

employed in conveying that portion of the divine message 
best suited to each ; while the Holy Spirit inspired and 
linked together the various parts of Scripture, so as to 
form one harmonious and vitally organized whole ; each 
part serving its appropriate purpose/and each conveying 
its own portion of the truth as it is in Jesus. While, 
then, the Scriptures are the writings of Moses and the 
Prophets, the Evangelists and the Apostles, they are the 
word of God in language, matter, and style; for all was 
given by inspiration of God. The entire form and sub- 
stance of Scripture, therefore, whether resulting from 
natural knowledge or divine revelation, have been 
assimilated and combined into one homogeneous organism 
by the vital energy of the Holy Spirit. 

Now, God has not only revealed his will to man 
gradually — "by little and by little" — but he has also 
made use of certain events from time to time, which 
formed a kind of natural channel for the conveyance of 
his truth. As in prophecy generally, each prediction 
was called forth by and attached itself to certain events 
occurring at the time of its utterance; so the external 
occasions which called forth the successive portions of 
the New Testament may be regarded as the providential 
element by which the full agency of the sacred writers 
was brought under the influence of Inspiration. Each 
writer acted voluntarily, and wrote with an earnest pur- 
pose to meet the then existing wants of the churches 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 25 

and individuals whom he addressed. For example, the 
Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians were called forth by 
certain events in one of the churches which he had 
planted, and the apostle wrote for the special instruction 
of that church. Yet such was the occasion made use of 
by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of conveying divine 
instruction to all succeeding churches in similar circum- 
stances. Thus "all Scripture" given by inspiration of 
God, " is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc- 
tion, for instruction in righteousness," and is equally 
adapted to all ages and climes. 

Hence the Bible, like its Incarnate Author, bears the 
impress both of divinity and humanity in harmonious 
and inseparable union, and is perfectly adapted to the 
condition and wants of man. Divine truth was cast in 
human moulds, and hence has a human form. And thus 
it is that human instrumentality has been moulded by 
divine influence into the very organism of Scripture. 
Every ray of Divine Light has been borne to mankind 
through the medium best suited to its transmission ; and 
yet, w\hile borrowing its particular hue from the medium 
through which it passed, it retains all the purity of the 
Sun of righteousness from which it emanated. 

Such, then, is the nature of Inspiration, or what it is. 
It is distinct from Revelation; and distinct from the ordi- 
nary influences of the Holy Spirit; while it combines 
divine agency with human instrumentality in one har- 



26 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

monious whole. This theory of Inspiration satisfies all 
the conditions of revelation, and accounts for the pecu- 
liar phenomena of Scripture. 1. The distinction be- 
tween Inspiration and Revelation satisfactorily accounts 
for the fact that " all Scripture " is divinely inspired and 
equally inspired, whether it consist of direct revelations 
from God or of mere historical facts previously known 
to the sacred writers; and that the entire record, and 
every word of it, was given by divine inspiration, and 
hence is infallibly true. 2. The distinction between Inspi- 
ration and the ordinary influences of the Holy Spirit 
accounts for the additional fact, that, while the divine 
writers ware fallible and liable to err when acting merely 
in their individual capacity as Christians, they were 
absolutely infallible and incapable of erring when acting 
in their official capacity as inspired teachers ; and hence 
they claim divine authority and perfect truthfulness for 
all their teachings and writings. 3. That the harmonious 
combination of divine agency and human instrumentality 
in the communication and composition of the Scriptures 
fully explains the fact that the Bible possesses both a 
divine and human aspect, inseparably combined together, 
and that the individuality and personal peculiarities of 
the different writers appear on every page of their 
writings ; while the Holy Spirit employed all the facul- 
ties and resources of the several writers, rendering even 
their language the word of God. Hence the absurdity 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 27 

of the theory, that the subject-matter only of Scripture 
is inspired, while its language was left to the unaided 
choice of the writers. On the contrary, the whole of 
Scripture, language, manner, and matter, is divinely 
inspired, and hence all is the word of God. 

DIRECT PROOFS OF INSPIRATION. 

Having briefly explained the Nature of Inspiration, 
let us consider — 

II. The Direct Proofs of Inspiration. 

The evidences of the truth of the Bible are of two 
kinds, external and internal. The external evidences 
embrace Miracles, Prophecy, the Success of the gospel, 
etc. ; and the internal evidences include the superhuman 
revelations of the Bible, its heavenly spirit, its moral recti- 
tude, its peculiar doctrines, its wonderful harmony and 
unity, its perfect adaptation, and its beneficial effects on 
individuals and nations. These evidences are clear and 
conclusive, and fully satisfy every honest inquirer after 
the truth. No other book has a tithe of the evidence of 
its truth, and hence the Bible is its own witness. But 
we cannot here present these evidences; and in the 
present essay, we must take for granted the entire array 
of Christian evidence — embracing both the external and 
internal evidences of Christianity, together with the 
vast extent of antiquarian and grammatical criticism, 
and the profound argument from the analogy of nature, 



28 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

as well as the concurrent belief of the wise and good of 
all ages, and the harmonious testimony of sacred and 
profane history. On such evidence, we are fully au- 
thorized to assume the authenticity, genuineness, and 
absolute truthfulness of Scripture, and to draw our main 
arguments for the Inspiration of the Bible from its own 
pages. 

Nor is this view of the subject justly chargeable with 
logical fallacy. "As well might we reject the personal 
statements of an ambassador, with respect to the nature 
of his powers and the source of his instructions, after we 
had verified his credentials, and satisfied ourselves as to 
his veracity. And thus the adducing of arguments from 
Scripture itself, in proof of its own inspiration, is no 
petitio principii. It would only become so, were we to 
assume the fact of its inspiration in order to infer there- 
from the credibility of its contents. This credibility we 
establish by independent proofs. Still less can any ob- 
jection be made to our drawing inferences as to the 
nature of the influence under which the Bible was com- 
posed, from the phenomena which its pages present to 
view, or its contents record. Such a process of reasoning 
is as sound as it is philosophical." — Vm. Lee, on "Inspi- 
ration of Scripture," p. 98. 

And the evidence furnished by the inspired writers 
themselves is necessarily of the highest value ; for they 
alone could bear direct testimony to the fact, that they 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 29 

had received revelations from God, and were divinely 
authorized and inspired to record them. All other evi- 
dence is merely circumstantial and inferential. Their 
testimony, therefore, is legitimate and must be received 
as direct proof of Inspiration, and as the strongest proof 
that can be given on the subject. 

Now the truth of the Bible being established by its 
own proper evidences, its Inspiration becomes as much a 
matter of revelation as is justification by faith, or salva- 
tion by grace. Both stand equally on the authority of 
Scripture ; and all who admit the truth of the Bible are 
bound to admit its obvious teachings on this subject. 
There is, in fact, no other way of establishing Inspiration 
but by revelation; and this question must be settled by 
the Scriptures themselves just as any other question of 
revealed truth. Then, " to the law and to the testimony ; 
if they speak not according to this word, it is because 
there is no light in them." Isa. viii. 20. But we can 
give only a specimen of direct Scripture proof, at present, 
omitting all collateral proofs. 

1. My first direct proof of Inspiration is drawn from 
the Writings of Moses and the Prophets. 

Moses was indeed a prophet, but he was more than a 
prophet. He was the mediator of the old covenant 
(Gal. iii. 19) ; and a lively type of Jesus Christ, the 
Mediator of the new covenant. Heb. xii. 24. When 
called to his high office on Mount Horeb, he humbly 



30 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

plead to be excused, saying: "Alas, O my Lord, I am 
not eloquent;" — adding, "send, I pray thee, by the hand 
of him whom thou wilt send." The Lord answered: 
" Who hath made man's mouth ? Now therefore go, and 
I will be with thy mouth, and will teach thee what thou 
shalt say." Ex. iv. 10-13. Moses obeyed, and became 
mighty in words and in deeds. 

Now the Old Testament was divided by the Jews into 
three parts : the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the 
Psalms; and this division was recognized by our Saviour. 
Luke xxiv. 44. The first part embraces the Pentateuch, 
or five Books of Moses, and consists of direct revela- 
tions, prophetical and typical predictions, and numerous 
historical facts. In the composition of these sacred books 
divine Inspiration was indispensable, both as to the facts 
and language; for Moses wrote them long after creation, 
an account of which he was commissioned to give. Ac- 
cordingly, Moses claimed to speak and write by divine 
authority and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit ; 
and his claim was supported by wonderful miracles, as 
well as by the superhuman character of his writings, and 
the immemorial beliefs of God's people. He claimed 
that his commands were the commands of God ; that his 
teachings were divine teachings; and that his writings 
were the inspired word of God. 

Hence Moses, in recapitulating his teachings, just 
before his death, said to Israel: "Ye shall not add 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 31 

unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye 
diminish aught from it. that ye may keep the command- 
ments of the Lord your God which I commanded you.*' 
Deut. iv. 2. And in summing up all his teachings, 
he added: "Now these are the commandments, the 
statutes, and the judgments which the Lord your God 
commanded to teach you, that ye might do them." Deut. 
vi. 1. And Moses was expressly and repeatedly com- 
manded to commit to writing the several portions of the 
Pentateuch, embracing even the travels and sins of the 
children of Israel. For instance, " The Lord said unto 
Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse 
it in the ears of Joshua ; for I will utterly put out the 
remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." Ex. xvii. 
14. Again, " The Lord said unto Moses, Write thou 
these words; for after the tenor of these words I have 
made a covenant with thee and with Israel." Ex. xxxiv. 
27. And again, it is said : " These are the journeys of 
the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land 
of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and 
Aaron. And Moses wrote their goings out according 
to their journeys, by the commandment of the Lord" 
Num. xxxiii. 1, 2. " And it came to pass, when Moses 
had made an end of writing the words of this law in a 
book, until they were finished, that Moses commanded the 
Levites, who bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, 
saying : Take this book of the law, and put it in the 



32 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

side of the ark of the covenant." Dent. xxxi. 24-26. 
Accordingly, Paul, in alluding to the facts of Jewish 
history, says : " All these things happened unto them for 
our example ; and they are written for our admonition" 
1 Cor. x. 11. Hence we see that the Law of Moses, 
embracing the first five • books of the Old Testament, 
was written by divine Inspiration, and is a part of the 
word of God. 

The same is equally true of the writings of Samuel, 
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and all the prophets, including the 
second division of the Old Testament Scriptures. God 
expressly promised Inspiration to his ancient servants. 
For example, when Jeremiah plead that he could not 
speak on account of his youth, the Lord answered: 
" Say not, I am a child ; for thou shalt go to all that I 
shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou 
shalt speak;' 7 and having reached forth his hand and 
touched his young servant's mouth, he said : " Behold, I 
have put my words in thy mouth" Jer. i. 5-9. So the 
Lord said to Isaiah, Ezekiel, and all his servants. They 
were commissioned and inspired to speak and write his 
words, whether men would hear or forbear. See Ezek. 
iii. 10-12. 

Accordingly, all the prophets claimed to speak and 
write by divine Inspiration. Hence the frequency of the 
expressions with which they introduce their messages: 
"Hear the word of the Lord" (Isa. i. 10); "For the 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 33 

mouth of the Lord hath spoken it" (Isa. i. 20); "Thus 

saith the Lord" (Jer. xvi. 9); "The word of the Lord 

that came to Jeremiah the prophet" (Jer. xlvii. 1); 

" The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the 

priest " (Ezek. i. 3) ; " The word of the Lord came unto 

Jonah the second time" (Jonah iii. 1). The divine 

message came to the prophets only when God pleased, 

and often in an unexpected way. As it is written : 

" It came to pass the same night, that the word of 

God came to Nathan, saying" (1 Chron. xvii. 3); "The 

hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out 

in the Spirit of the Lord" (Ezek. xxxvii. 1); "The 

word of God came unto John in the wilderness " (Luke 

iii. 2). Thus God spake at pleasure by and through 

his servants as rational agents; and hence their words 

were his words. 

Indeed, divine Inspiration was indispensable to the 

prophetic office ; for the prophets themselves often could 

not understand the meaning of their own predictions. 

Daniel, for example, tells us more than once, that he did 

not understand the prophetic meaning of his own words. 

Says he : "I heard, but I understood not : then said I, O 

my Lord, what shall be the end of these things ? And 

he said, Go thy way, Daniel : for the words are closed 

up and sealed till the time of the end." Dan. xii. 8, 9. 

And Peter informs us that "the prophets inquired and 

searched diligently" to understand the full meaning of 

c 



34 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

their own predictions, " searching what, or what manner 
of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did 
signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of 
Christ, and the glory that should follow." 1 Peter i. 10, 11. 
Now all prophecy is necessarily obscure as to de- 
tails until its fulfillment. In the language of Irenseus, 
"every prophecy is an enigma before its accomplishment." 
This necessity arises from two causes: First, from the 
nature of the case, the full meaning of prophetic 
language must transcend our limited comprehension ; 
and, Second, without such obscurity, the full course of 
history would be interrupted. The obscurity of prophecy 
was evidently designed to leave the freedom of human 
actions undisturbed. It is on this principle that Paul 
states that, had the rulers of this world understood the 
mystery of redemption as revealed in prophecy, they 
would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Cor. ii. 8. 
See also Acts xiii. 27. That the predictions of Scripture 
were not designed to be fully understood before their 
fulfillment, is clearly indicated by our Lord when he 
says: "And now I have told you before it come to pass, 
that when it is come to pass ye might believe." John xiv. 
29. Thus it is that unfulfilled prophecy is compared by 
Peter to "a light that shineth in a dark place, until the 
day dawn, and the day -star arise in your hearts " by its 
fulfillment. 2 Peter i. 19. All is plain when the event 
occurs. 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 35 

The prophets not only " spake as they were moved by 
the Holy Ghost " (2 Peter i. 21), but they also recorded 
their predictions by the command of God and under the 
influence of divine Inspiration. When Samuel had 
made known to Israel the character of Saul's reign, he 
" wrote it in a booh, and laid it up before the Lord." 
1 Sam. x. 25. Isaiah was expressly commanded to 
write his prediction against rebellious Israel on a table, 
" and note it in a booh, that it may be for the time 
to come, forever and ever." Isa. xxx. 8. And we are 
informed as to the authority and manner in which 
Jeremiah wrote his predictions : " This word came unto 
Jeremiah from the Lord, saying : Take thee a roll of a 
booh, and write therein all the words that I have spoken 
against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the 
nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days 
of Josiah, even unto this day . . . Then Jeremiah called 
Baruch the son of Neriah : and JBaruch wrote from the 
mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord, which he 
had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book." Jer. 
xxxvi. 1,2,4. Similar commands were given to Ezekiel 
(xxiv. 1, 2; xliii. 10,11), and to the other prophets. 
Thus they spake and wrote in obedience to the divine 
command, " as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 

The prophets not only spake and wrote by divine 
authority and under divine Inspiration, but they also 
refer to each other's writings as the infallible word of 



36 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

God. For example, Daniel quotes by name the predic- 
tions of Jeremiah respecting the captivity of Israel. 
Says he : "I Daniel understood by books the number of 
the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to 
Jeremiah the prophet." Dan. ix. 2. And the heavenly 
messenger who was sent to instruct Daniel, said : " I will 
show thee that which is noted in the Scripture of truth." 
Dan. x. 21. Nehemiah tells us how Ezra read and 
explained " the book of the law of Moses which the 
Lord had commanded to Israel." Neh. viii. 1. And in 
his solemn confession of the sins of Israel, he adds: 
"Many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst 
against them by thy Spirit in thy prophets" Neh. ix. 30. 
Many similar allusions may be found in the writings of 
the prophets. Thus the prophets bear separate and 
united testimony to the divine authority and inspiration 
of this important part of Old Testament Scripture. 

Moreover, God prescribed the w 7 ays and means by 
which his word should be preserved pure from every 
admixture of error. Those claiming to be prophets 
were required to furnish, on all proper occasions, the 
external proofs of a divine commission. These proofs 
consisted of unquestionable Miracles, in addition to the 
consciousness of a divine call. Now Prophecy, from its 
embracing the far future, serves as a standing witness 
to every age, and its testimony strengthens with its ful- 
fillment. But Miracles, by virtue of the evident dis- 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 37 

play of divine power in them, afford to all candid 
minds the strongest immediate proofs of Inspiration. 
The language of unprejudiced reason must ever be — 
"We know that thou art a teacher come from God: 
for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, ex- 
cept God be with him." John iii. 2. Miracles attest 
both the messenger and his message, and seal his in- 
structions as divine. Accordingly, John says of the 
miracles of Christ: "Many other signs truly did Jesus 
in the presence of his disciples which are not written 
in this book ; but these are written, that ye might be- 
lieve that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." John 
xx. 30, 31. And Paul regards such proofs as indis- 
pensable to an apostle, as they were to the ancient 
prophets. "Truly," says he, "the signs of an apostle 
were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and 
wonders, and mighty deeds." 2 Cor. xii. 12. These 
external proofs were given at all times when occasion 
required it; as for example, to Moses, to Gideon, to 
Hezekiah, and to others. See Ex. iv. 1-9; Judges vi. 
36-40; 2 Kings xx. 8-11. 

In addition to this, it was expressly enjoined in the 
Law of Moses, that false prophets should be put to 
death (Deut. xiii. 1-3; xviii. 20-23); and this in- 
junction was rigidly enforced to the latest period of 
prophecy. Even parents were required to thrust a son 
through who was known to prophesy falsely. Zech. xiii. 



38 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

3. The permanent obligation of these precepts, together 
with the astonishing care and fidelity with which the 
Jews guarded the purity of their Scriptures, enables us 
clearly to discern the criteria by which Ezra and Ne- 
hemiah were guided in the selection of those books 
which were known to be inspired ; for, aside from their 
own inspiration, they would have admitted no book as 
divine which was not recognized as such by the Jews 
generally. Thus these inspired men were divinely guided 
to select from the literature of the nation those documents 
only " which had been written for our learning " at the 
express command of God. Hence the words of the 
prophets are said to have been " graven on a rock, and 
written with iron." And had they not have been so 
engraven and written, by irresistible evidence of their 
inspiration, how could they have withstood the odium 
and opposition which they provoked? 

From all this it is evident that the Author of Scrip- 
ture designed that its several parts combined should 
constitute a perpetual witness for him, and an infallible 
rule of faith and practice for his people. 

But the Psalms, as well as the writings of Moses and 
the Prophets, bear witness to the Inspiration of the Old 
Testament Scriptures. The several writers of the Psalms 
are called prophets by our Saviour. Matt. xiii. 35 ; xxiiL 
34. And David, the chief writer, was a prophet (Acts 
ii. 30) ; but, like Moses, he was more than a prophet. In 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 39 

his kingly office, he was a striking type of the Messiah, 
the King of kings. David claimed to speak and write 
by divine Inspiration. Says he : " The Spirit of the Lord 
spake by me, and his word was in my tongue" (2 Sam. 
xxiii. 1,2); and " this shall be written for the generations 
to comer Ps. cii. 18. Accordingly, Jesus quotes Psalm 
ex. 1, and says : " David himself said by the Holy Ghost, 
The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 
till I make thine enemies thy footstool." Mark xii. 36. 
Peter also said : " Men and brethren, this Scripture must 
needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the 
mouth of David spake before concerning Judas." Acts i. 
16. And all the apostles " lifted up their voices to God 
with one accord, and said : Lord, thou art God — who 
by the mouth of thy servant David hast said," etc. Acts, 
iv. 23-25; comp. Ps. ii. 1, 2. 

Many other proofs of the Inspiration of the Scriptures 
might be drawn from the Psalms, but more are un- 
necessary after what has been given from the writings of 
Moses and the Prophets. Hence we see that the whole 
of the Old Testament, and every part of it, was given by 
Inspiration of God and is profitable. 

2. My second direct proof of Inspiration is drawn 
from the teachings of the Saviour. 

In previous ages, God had spoken to the fathers " at 
sundry times and in divers manners " by the prophets. 
Heb. i. 1. The various parts of revelation were thus 



40 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

conveyed gradually and under aspects best suited to the 
times; and this progressive development of the divine 
character and will was rendered necessary by man's 
incapacity to receive a full revelation at once. But " in 
these last days God hath spoken unto us by his Son" 
(verse 2), " who hath abolished death, and hath brought 
life and immortality to light through the gospel." 2 Tim. 
i. 10. Thus the light of revelation gradually increased, 
until the Sun of righteousness himself arose upon our 
benighted world with healing in his beams. " That was 
the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh 
into the world." John i. 9. 

As before shown, Christ is the centre, as well as the 
source of all revelation. Every prophetic announcement 
and every typical offering and sacrifice pointed to him as 
" the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the 
world." John i. 29. There is, therefore, an inseparable 
connection, as well as perfect harmony, between the Old 
and the New Testaments. " The law was our school- 
master to bring us unto Christ" (Gal. iii. 24), "upon 
whom the ends of the world are come." 1 Cor. x. 11. 
The object of each successive revelation was to restore the 
lost truths of religion, and to bring man back to the 
knowledge and worship of the true God. To attain this 
great end, different dispensations were necessary, each 
preparatory to the next, and all preparatory to the pres- 
ent dispensation. The dispensation introduced by Christ, 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 41 

therefore, includes and perfects all previous revelations, 
and combines them into one harmonious and organized 
whole complete in all its parts. It perfects both the 
legal and promissory parts of the Old Testament. The 
law becomes real, living truth; the promises become 
actual grace, as it is written : " The law was given by 
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." John 
i. 17. Its individuality is now stamped with univer- 
sality: "Many shall come from the east and west, and 
shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in 
the kingdom of heaven." Matt. viii. 11. The middle 
wall of partition is broken down, and both Jews and 
Gentiles have become "fellow citizens with the saints 
and of the household of God." Eph. ii. 18-22. 

Accordingly, our Lord throughout his entire ministry, 
represents himself as fulfilling, in Person, the prophetic 
and typical predictions of the Old Testament Dispensa- 
tion, and as "blotting out the handwriting of ordinances 
that wa3 against us." Col. ii. 14. He made the Old 
Testament the basis of his teachings, and continually em- 
ployed it as the inspired word of God ; thus indicating 
not only its permanent authority, but also its true rela- 
tion to the New Testament. Hence said he : " Think 
not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets : 
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Matt. v. 17. 
In these words Christ asserts the inseparable connection 
between the Old and the New Testaments. He teaches, 



42 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

First, The divine authority of the Old Testament; second, 
That the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old ; 
and third, That, in this sense, the law is not abrogated, 
but remains an imperishable part of the word of God 
which we know endureth forever. 1 Peter i. 25. And 
hence he adds : " Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or 
one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be 
fulfilled." Ver. 18. Jesus here employs the same lan- 
guage to express the permanency of the Old Testament 
Scriptures, that he elsewhere applies to his own teach- 
ings : " Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words 
shall not pass away" (Matt. xxiv. 35); that is, the Old" 
Testament Scriptures and the sayings of Christ are alike 
imperishable, because both are equally the inspired word 
of God. Hence we must see that the Old Testament was 
the basis of the New, and received its fulfillment in it. 
It was the shadow of good things to come, while Christ 
was the substance. When Messiah came, the positive 1 
part of the Old Testament ceased to be binding as a rule 
of duty, but all the moral part was brought forward and 
incorporated into the New. Hence both Jews and Gen- 
tiles are said to be "built upon the foundation of the 
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the 
chief corner-stone." Eph. ii. 20. And hence, too, we see 

1 This term is used in the same sense as in those cases where positive and 
moral laws are contrasted — the positive law issued for a special occasion, and 
of temporary obligation; the moral law such as is everywhere and at all 
times binding. — Ed. 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 43 

the Christian element in the manna from heaven (John 
vi. 58) ; in the narrative of Hagar and Ishmael (Gal. iv. 
24-26) ; in the rock smitten by Moses (1 Cor. x. 4) ; 
in the support of the priesthood (1 Cor. ix. 7-14) ; and 
in all the Mosaic rites and ceremonies. Heb. ix. 1-24. 
Thus the New Testament was the key to unlock the 
Old. 

But more particularly we ask: How did Jesus Christ 
regard the Old Testament Scriptures ? What use did he 
make of them ? And what does he say of them ? His 
holy life and heavenly teachings must answer these im- 
portant questions. Let us then accompany "the Apostle 
and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus " (Heb. 
iii. 1), as he goes forth on his mission of love, bearing 
" the volume of the booh in which it is written of him." 
Psalm xl. 6-8 ; comp. Heb. x. 5-10. 

Having "fulfilled all righteousness" (Matt. iii. 15), 
" Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be 
tempted of the devil." Matt. iv. 1-11. There, as did the 
first Adam in Eden, he encountered the Prince of dark- 
ness bent on his overthrow. And how did the Son of 
God repel the subtle attacks of his arch-enemy ? Simply 
and solely by the word of God. The only weapon he 
employed was "the sword of the Spirit." Eph. vi. 17. 
Though Christ was tempted, first to distrust God, then 
to act presumptuously, and then to commit idolatry, still 
his only defence was this : " It is written " — " It is writ- 



44 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

ten;" — "Get thee behind me, Satan; for it is written" 
See Deut. vi. 13; viii. 3; x. 20 ; comp. Luke iv. 1-13. 

And when the devil, on seeing Christ's supreme regard 
for the authority of Scripture, quoted to him a part of 
Psalm xci. in a mutilated form, forthwith Jesus con- 
founded him by saying: "It is written again" Matt, 
iv. 7. 

When his first great temptation was ended, "Jesus 
returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee ; — and 
he came to Nazareth, w 7 here he had been brought up: 
and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on 
the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there 
was delivered to him the book of the prophet Esaias." 
Luke iv. 14-19. Having read Isa. Ixi. 1-3, he closed the 
book, gave it to the minister again, and sat down ; and, 
while the eyes of all were fastened on him, he, began 
to say to them : " This day is this Scripture fulfilled in 
your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at 
the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth." 
Verses 21, 22. 

" After this there was a feast of the Jews ; and Jesus 
went up to Jerusalem." John v. 1-9. While there he 
healed " the impotent man " at the pool of Bethesda on 
the Sabbath day. The Jews murmured ; and after much 
controversy with them, Jesus said: "Search the Scrip- 
tures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and 
these are they which testify of me" Verse 39. Hence 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 45 

Christ embraces the whole of the Old Testament, which 
the Jews admitted to be the inspired word of God. 

When the Pharisees temptingly asked the Saviour his 
views of marriage and divorce, he appealed to the Old 
Testament Scriptures as the basis of his doctrine on this 
subject. He replied : " Have ye not read (Gen. i. 27 ; ii. 
24), that he which made them at the beginning, made 
them male and female, and said : For this cause shall a 
man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his 
wife ; and they twain shall be one flesh? What therefore 
God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." 
Matt. xix. 4-6. 

Again, our Lord on the night of his betrayal quoted 
the language of Zechariah (xiii. 7), and applied it to 
himself, and to his disciples. Hence it will doubtless be 
admitted that Christ is a competent expositor ; and his 
allusion to it is as follows: "AH ye shall be offended 
because of me this night ; for it is written, I will smite 
the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scat- 
tered." Matt. xxvi. 31. 

Again, we hear the Saviour exclaim on the cross . 
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Matt. 
xxvii. 46. This was the prophetical language of David, 
uttered more than a thousand years before its complete 
fulfillment. See Ps. xxii. 1. There remained still another 
prophecy to be fulfilled before the Saviour's death. 
Vinegar must be given him to drink, as the Holy Ghost 



46 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

had declared by the mouth of David in Psalm lxix. 
Accordingly, it is written: "Jesus knowing that all 
things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might 
be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. And they filled a sponge with 
vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his 
mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, 
he said: It is finished; and he bowed his head and 
gave up the ghost." John xix. 28-30. 

And again, after his resurrection, we find the Saviour 
explaining the Scriptures and applying them to himself. 
As Cleopas and his friend communed and reasoned 
together on their way to Eramaus, "Jesus himself drew 
near and went with them. ,, Luke xxiv. 15. " Then he 
said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all 
that the prophets have spoken ; ought not Christ to have 
suffered these things, and to enter into his glory ? And 
beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded 
unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning 
himself.' , Verses 25-27. " And they said one to another, 
Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with 
us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures ? 
Verse 32. 

Afterwards Jesus " appeared unto the eleven as they 
sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and 
hardness of heart" (Mark xvi. 14), and said unto them: 
" These are the words which I spake unto you, while I 
was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 47 

were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, 
and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their 
understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, 
and said unto them : Thus it is written, and thus it be- 
hooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the 
third day; and that repentance and remission of sin3 
should be preached in his name among all nations, begin- 
ning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. " 
Luke xxiv. 44-48. 

Such is a fair specimen of the testimony of Jesus to the 
Inspiration of the Scriptures. He evidently believed in 
the plenary and verbal Inspiration of all Scripture, and 
claimed the same infallible truthfulness for the writings 
of Moses and the prophets, that he did for his own in- 
spired teachings, which shall stand when heaven and 
earth pass away. Matt. v. 18 ; Luke xxi. 33. So far from 
admitting that the language of Scripture was left to the 
free choice and pious fancy of the sacred writers, he em- 
phatically declares that every word, was given by divine 
Inspiration, and hence "cannot be broken." John x. 35. 

3. My third direct proof of Inspiration is drawn from 
the writings of the Apostles and Evangelists. 

The New Testament writers, like the Saviour, made the 
Old Testament Scriptures the basis of their teachings, and 
regarded the New as the fulfillment of the Old. They 
quote the writings of Moses and the Prophets as infallible 
proof of the truthfulness of their own doctrines, and as 



48 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

component parts of the word of God, equally authorita- 
tive and true with the teachings of Christ himself. They 
recognize the Old Testament as an essential element of 
" the faith once delivered to the saints " ; and as contain- 
ing in its doctrines, narratives, precepts, prophecies, and 
types, the germs of all the leading truths of the gospel. 
This applies both to the doctrines and duties of Chris- 
tianity. 

For example, Paul teaches that the typical meaning of 
Circumcision was a change of heart. " Neither," says he, 
"is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh:" — 
but " circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit." — 
Rom. ii. 28, 29. Again, the apostle, in his discussion of 
justification by faith, illustrates the doctrine by the case 
of Abraham, and adds : " It was not written for his sake 
alone, that it (his faith) was imputed to him ; but for us 
also, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him." 
Rom. iv. 22-24. And when addressing the church at 
Corinth on the subject of ministerial support, the apostle 
asks : " Say I these things as a man ? or saith not the 
law the same also ? For it is written in the law of Moses 
(Deut. xxv. 4) : Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of 
the ox that treadeth out the corn " ; adding in explana- 
tion, "For otir sokes no doubt this is written" — "Even so 
hath the Lord ordained that they who preach the gospel 
should live of the gospel." 1 Cor. ix. 7-14. Again, Paul 
reminds the Corinthians of the fact, that he had declared 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 49 

unto them first of all, how that Christ died, was buried, 
and rose again the third day, "according to the Scrip- 
tures" 1 Cor. xv. 1-4. And in his defence before King 
Agrippa, the apostle adds : " Having therefore obtained 
help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to 
small and great, saying none other things than those 
which the prophets and Moses did say should come : that 
Christ should suffer" Acts xxvi. 22, 23. 

Thus Peter, also, demonstrated to the Jews from the 
Old Testament, that God had made that same Jesus, 
whom they had crucified, both Lord and Christ. Acts ii. 
36. So all the apostles and evangelists taught. They 
not only quote distinct proof texts, but incorporate the 
very language of the Old Testament with their own 
doctrines, and thu3 represent the prophets in the same 
light as themselves. And in no way do they more 
clearly evince their belief in the Inspiration of the Old 
Testament Scriptures than by giving collective quotations 
from various books of the Bible, in order to prove some 
Christian doctrine. The Epistle to the Hebrews furnishes 
several instances of this ; but the most striking example 
is found in Eom. iii. 10-18, where five different texts 
from the Psalms are combined in the same quotation 
with a passage from Isaiah, to prove the doctrine of 
human depravity and universal wickedness — the whole 
series commencing with the formula: "As it is written;" 
from which it necessarily results that each portion of 

D 



50 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

Scripture mast be regarded as part of one divine 
whole. 

Thus the New Testament writers, guided by Inspira- 
tion, combined their faith and hopes, their words and 
acts, with the very substance and language of the Old 
Testament Scriptures. Accordingly, they insist not only 
upon the preparatory relation of the Old Testament to 
the New, but also upon the permanent authority of the 
Old, as an integral part of the word of God, " which 
liveth and abideth forever." "For whatsoever things 
were written aforetime," says Paul, " were written for our 
learning, that we through patience and comfort of the 
Scriptures might have hope." Rom. xv. 4. And John, 
in his Apocalyptic vision, informs us, that both the Old 
and the New Testaments furnish the language of adora- 
tion and praise to the redeemed in heaven, who " sing 
the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of 
the Lamb." Rev. xv. 3. So intimate, indeed, is the 
connection subsisting between the Old and the New Tes- 
taments, in language, thought, and design, that we are 
bound to regard their several parts as but different mem- 
bers of one organized whole; each fulfilling its own 
proper function, and all pointing to the Lamb of God 
who taketh away the sin of the world. 

The New Testament writers sometimes quote literally 
from the Septuagint Version where it differs from the 
Hebrew. Thus our Lord himself sanctioned this trans- 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 51 

lation in regard to marriage by quoting the words " and 
they twain," which are not expressed in the Hebrew 
(Matt. xix. 5); and Paul does the same in Eph. v. 
31. In all such cases the Greek translation is fol- 
lowed as expressing the true sense of the original He- 
brew: the idea veiled in the words of the Old Testa- 
ment being thus more fully brought out in the New 
Testament by the same divine authority that revealed 
and inspired both Testaments. 

On the other hand, when the Septuagint does not 
express the true idea of the prophets, the New Testa- 
ment writers guided by Inspiration abandon it, and give 
their own translation of the original Hebrew. For in- 
stance, John quotes Zech. xii. 10 : " They shall look 
on him whom they pierced" (John xix. 37), and cor- 
rects the Greek translation. Thus the Old Testament 
Scriptures are explained and perfected in the New 
Testament. 

The apostles and evangelists not only quote the writ- 
ings of Moses and the prophets as inspired authority, 
but also claim equal authority and inspiration for their 
own writings. They claim divine authority and ple- 
nary and verbal inspiration for all their teachings and 
waitings, and never for a moment admit the possibility 
of their statements being erroneous. They enforce the 
obligation to receive their doctrines and obey their com- 
mands on the ground that they had been accompanied 



52 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

with such miracles as attest their divine authority and 
inspiration. See Rom. xv. 19; 2 Cor. xii. 12 ; Heb. ii. 4, 
etc. This authority they claim to be equal to that of 
the prophets and of Christ himself. To the Ephesian 
Christians Paul said : " Ye are built upon the founda- 
tion of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself 
being the chief corner-stone." Eph. ii. 20. Here the 
apostles are placed first in order, although last in point 
of time. And Peter exhorted his brethren to be " mind- 
ful of the words which were spoken before by the holy 
prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles 
of the Lord and Saviour" (2 Peter iii. 2), who "have 
preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent 
down from heaven." 1 Peter i. 12. Thus the New Tes- 
tament writers claim for themselves the same divine 
guidance which they ascribe to those "holy men of 
God," who "spake as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghost." 2 Peter i. 21. 

They not only claim plenary and verbal Inspiration 
and absolute truthfulness for their oral teachings, but 
also for their canonical writings. That the New Testa- 
ment, like the Old, was intended as a " memorial" for 
after times, is evident from what John says of the design 
of his Gospel : " These are written, that ye might believe 
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that 
believing, ye might have life through his name." John 
xx. 31. The various parts of the New Testament were 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 53 

successively committed to writing at the divine command 
and by the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as the existing 
wants of churches and individuals required it. For 
instance, "Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness/ 5 in his 
" revelation " to John, said : " What thou seest, write in a 
book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in 
Asia*' (Rev. i. 1-11); and yet each of these epistles is 
styled, "what the Spirit saith unto the churches" Rev. 
ii. 1-7. The general command to the apostle was: 
" Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things 
which are, and the things which shall be hereafter." 
Rev. i. 19. And the same apostle, on twelve different 
occasions, received a command to write a narrative of his 
visions. See, for example, Rev. ii. 12, 18; iii. 1, 7, 14; 
xiv. 13 ; xix. 9 ; xxi. 5. Accordingly, said Paul to the 
Corinthians: "If any man think himself to be a prophet, 
or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I 
have written unto you are the commandments of the 
Lord." 1 Cor. xiv. 37. And to the Thessalonians the 
apostle said : " Stand fast, and hold the traditions (or 
doctrines) which ye have been taught, whether by word, 
or our epistle" 2 Thess. ii. 15. 

Nor are we to imagine that the inspiration of the 
apostles and evangelists extended merely to the doctrines 
and facts recorded: it extends alike to the language 
which they employed. Including the teachings of himself 
and his inspired colleagues, Paul says : " Which things we 



54 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, 
but which the Holy Ghost teacheth" 1 Cor. ii. 13. " For 
this cause also thank we God without ceasing/' adds 
the apostle to the Thessalonians, " because, when ye 
received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye 
received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, 
the word of God." 1 Thess. ii. 13. Now the phrase, word 
of God, necessarily implies that the Scriptures are God's, 
in language as well as matter, in style as well as senti- 
ment. The divine character of Scripture language is 
further evident from Gal. iii. 16, where Paul says : " To 
Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He 
saith not, and to seeds, as of many ; but as of one, And 
to thy seed, which is Christ." Here the apostle confines 
himself to the exposition of a single word, and founds 
his argument on the force of that one word. Now 
believers " are all one in Christ Jesus " ; and if they be 
Christ's, then are they "Abraham's seed, and heirs 
according to the promise." Gal. iii. 28, 29. Hence we 
see that the very words of Scripture, equally with its 
doctrines and truths, are inspired ; and, therefore, the 
Bible is the word of God, in language, manner, and 
thought. 

From all these facts we learn the principle which 
guided the New Testament writers in the use which they 
have made of the Old Testament. The ancient prophets 
often did not fully comprehend the meaning of the pre- 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 55 

dictions to which they gave utterance. The Holy Spirit, 
by whose inspiration they spoke and wrote, had infused a 
deeper significance into their words than they were able 
to perceive. This fact Daniel and others expressly de- 
clare. And Peter tells us, that "the prophets have 
inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the 
grace that should come unto you; searching what, or 
what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in 
them did signify, when it testified beforehand the suffer- 
ings .of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto 
whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto 
us they did minister the things which are now reported 
unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto 
you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven ; which 
things the angels desire to look into." 1 Peter i. 10-12. 
Both angels and prophets were diligent students of an- 
cient prophecy. But it remained for Christ and his apos- 
tles, in the fullness of time, to comprehend the depths of 
prophecy and to unfold its hidden mysteries. Says Paul : 
"God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the 
Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 
. . . For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that 
he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." 1 * 
1 Cor. ii. 10-16. 

Our Lord, on four different occasions, promised plenary 
and verbal Inspiration to his chosen disciples (Matt x. 19, 
20 ; Mark xiii. 11 ; Luke xii. 11, 12 ; John xiv. 16, 17, 



56 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

26) ; and, on his departure, he repeated the promise and 
bid them "tarry in the city of Jerusalem/' until they 
received the blessing. Luke xxiv. 49. The three first 
passages express substantially the same idea, and may 
be considered together: — "When they deliver you up, 
take no thought how or what ye shall speak ; for it shall 
be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak ; for 
it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which 
speaketh in you." Matt. x. 19, 20; comp. Mark xiii. 11 ; 
Luke xii. 11, 12. These three promises embrace all the 
public occasions on wmich the apostles could be called 
upon to defend themselves, whether before councils or 
kings, governors or synagogues. On every such occasion 
the assurance was the same : — " Take no thought before- 
hand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate; but 
whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye : 
for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost" Mark xiii. 
11. Plenary and verbal Inspiration could not be more 
clearly and fully expressed than it is in these promises. 

In accordance with his last great promise — "And lo! 
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" 
(Matt, xxviii. 20), the Saviour here gives his disciples 
a threefold pledge, " that in every exercise of their apos- 
tolic office, both the form and the substance, the language 
and the thought of their statements should be given them 
"in that same hour." (Lee, "Nature and Proofs of In- 
spiration," p. 247.) The apostles themselves so under- 



BIBLE INSPIEATION. 57 

stood these words of our Lord ; and hence Paul besought 
his Ephesian brethren to pray on his behalf, " that utter- 
ance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth 
boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel. ,, 
Eph. vi. 19. As before shown, the gift of Inspiration 
was not conferred except on special occasions, and for 
special purposes, and that in answer to prayer, as was the 
power of working miracles. And can we reasonably 
imagine that the apostles were thus infallibly guided 
when speaking the truth, but were left to their own falli- 
ble judgment when recording the same truth for the in- 
struction of all succeeding generations? The supposition 
is as unreasonable as it is unscriptural. 

As to the fulfillment of these promises, the New Testa- 
ment itself enables us to form a correct opinion. When 
the extraordinary gift of the Holy Spirit was bestowed 
upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost, there was 
a perfect transformation of their whole nature, similar 
to that described in the words of Samuel to Saul: — 
"The Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and 
thou shalt be turned into another man." 1 Sam. x. 6. 
"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and 
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave 
them utterance" Acts ii. 4. " We find these poor fisher- 
men of Galilee, whose whole tone of thought and line 
of conduct before their Lord's departure had remained 
so true to the character of 'unlearned and ignorant 



58 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

men,' changed on a sudden, into the courageous rivals 
of the philosophers and rhetoricians of their age. We 
see them, at first restless from doubts and fettered by 
prejudice, now immovable in their convictions and alive 
to each new aspect of the truth. Formerly timid and 
wavering, they are now fearless and resolved. Their 
delusive dream of temporal deliverance becomes a real 
assurance of eternal redemption. Their narrow estimate 
of the divine covenant with their nation expands under 
the guidance of the Holy Spirit, into the sublime concep- 
tion of ' the Israel of God.' " (Lee, " Nature and Proofs 
of Inspiration," p. 249.) 

This fact is reluctantly conceded by Dr. Paulus, a 
leading modern Rationalist, as quoted by Dr. Tholuck in 
the following words : " If we embrace in historic glance 
the record of the origin of Christianity, from the last 
evening of the life of Jesus, to the close of the fifty days 
next following, it is undeniable that, in that short in- 
terval, something of a nature encouraging beyond what 
was ordinary must have taken place, to transform the 
trembling and irresolute apostles of that evening into 
men exalted above all fear of death, who could exclaim 
before the most embittered judges of the murdered 
Jesus : ' We must obey God rather than man! ' And 
Tholuck adds, " that even Strauss admits this transfor- 
mation in the character and conduct of the apostles to be 
inexplicable, unless something extraordinary be supposed 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 59 

to have occurred during this interval." These admis- 
sions of the opposers of plenary and verbal Inspiration 
are as just as they are confirmatory of the doctrine 
which we advocate. 

Again, the promises of our Lord recorded by John, are 
even more comprehensive and specific. Here, as in the 
other pages, the extraordinary gift of the Holy Spirit is 
the great blessing promised : — " I will pray the Father, 
and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may 
abide with you forever, — even the Spirit of truth (John 
xiv. 16, 17) ; adding to relieve the misguided sorrow of 
his disciples : " It is expedient for you that I go away ; 
for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto 
you." John xvi. 7. In the language of another: "The 
apostles who had followed their Divine Teacher during 
his sojourn on earth were, no doubt, acquainted with the 
facts of his life: but there was, as yet, no object of Chris- 
tian Faith, in the true sense of the term, until the Lord 
had been received up into glory, and had triumphed over 
death and the grave. When he was removed from them, 
and his words no longer served as their guide, it became 
indispensable that his presence should be supplied. The 
suggestions of the Holy Ghost were then required in 
order to qualify them for their future labors: — to de- 
velop the full signification of the great events of which 
they had been spectators, and which now lay before them 
as matters of history; to give them a just insight into the 



60 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

divine counsels ; to enable them to insert in their teach- 
ing, without interweaving any heterogeneous element, 
each particular circumstance as it contributed to the elu- 
cidation of the general scheme ; to remind them of what 
had passed, without any distortion of the whole series of 
facts; and, in fine, to disclose the future, so that they 
might be able to decide, without error, in all the exigen- 
cies which should befall the Church." 

And this, indeed, is what the Saviour promised his dis- 
ciples. The Holy Spirit, who was thenceforward to sup- 
ply his personal presence, is expressly styled, " the Spirit 
of truth" "Who/' says Jesus, "shall teach you all things, 
and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I 
have said unto you/' John xiv. 26. The Holy Spirit 
was not only to bring all things to their "remembrance" 
whatsoever Christ had said unto them, but also to "teach" 
them all other needful truths, as they might be able to 
understand them. They had been faithfully instructed 
for more than three years by the Great Teacher himself, 
while " he spake unto them, being yet present with 
them " ; but they still needed additional knowledge from 
the treasures of divine truth to fit them for their official 
work. Hence Jesus said : " When the Comforter is 
come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even 
the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, 
he shall testify of me ; and ye also shall bear witness, 
because ye have been with me from the beginning." John 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 61 

xv. 26, 27. Here it is manifestly implied that the Holy 
Spirit should both testify of Christ, and impart additional 
knowledge to his disciples; a fact which is fully estab- 
lished by the following statement of the Saviour : " I 
have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot 
bear them now ; howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is 
come, he will guide you into all truth ; and he will show 
you things to come. He shall glorify me ; for he shall 
receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." John xvi. 
12-14. In these words our Lord clearly teaches that the 
extraordinary gift of the Holy Spirit was designed to 
supply the need which the apostles had of further instruc- 
tion in divine things, as well as to recall to their recollec- 
tion "all things" which he himself had taught them. 
The Inspiration of the Holy Spirit was to be exerted, not 
only in reproducing with infallible accuracy what Christ 
had said to them, and in guarding them from all error in 
narrating and recording the acts of his life, but also in 
conveying to them a knowledge of "the many things' 9 
which Jesus had still to reveal to them, but which they 
could not then " bear." And the additional knowledge 
thus to be conveyed to the disciples through the agency 
of the Holy Spirit was to bear the same stamp of infal- 
libility as that already communicated to them by the 
Saviour in person. As before observed, our Lord here 
distinguishes between Revelation and Inspiration; claim- 
ing the former as his own peculiar prerogative, while he 



62 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

ascribes the latter to the agency of the Holy Spirit : "He 
shall glorify me ; for he shall receive of mine, and shall 
show it unto you." 

Now the promises here recorded by John, like those 
recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, received a 
literal fulfillment. To this fact the apostles and evan- 
gelists bear abundant testimony in their writings. Take, 
for example, Peter, to whom it was given to open fully 
the door of faith to both Jews and Gentiles. In his 
first sermon after the extraordinary outpouring of the 
Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, he said to the 
inquiring multitude: "The promise is unto you, and to 
your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many 
as the Lord our God shall call." Acts ii. 39. Here the 
inspired apostle, in opposition to his former prejudices, — 
which it required a miracle to remove, Acts x. 9-29, — 
declares that the promise of salvation extended to the 
Gentiles, as well as to the Jews. And when " the apos- 
tles and brethren " at Jerusalem " contended with him " 
for going in and preaching the gospel to the Gentiles at 
the house of Cornelius, " Peter rehearsed the matter 
from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto 
them" — adding: "And as I began to speak, the Holy 
Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then 
remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, 
John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be bap- 
tized with the Holy Ghost." Acts xi. 1-16. 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 63 

From these facts we learn how the twofold promise 
was. fulfilled, that the "Holy Ghost" should "teach" the 
apostles " all things," and bring " all things " to their 
"remembrance" whatsoever Christ had said unto them. 
Accordingly, John, having repeated the question of the 
Jews, "What sign showest thou unto us?" and our 
Lord's reply, " Destroy this temple, and in three days I 
will raise it up," — goes on to explain, " But he spoke of 
the temple of his body. When, therefore, he was risen 
from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said 
this unto them ; and they believed the Scripture, and the 
word which Jesus had said." John ii. 18-22. Again, 
the same evangelist says: "These things understood not 
his disciples at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, 
then remembered they that these things were written of 
him, and that they had done these things unto him." 
John xii. 16. Thus the Holy Spirit gradually guided 
the apostles and evangelists into " all truth" and recalled 
to their memory "whatsoever" Jesus had taught them, 
enabling them to understand and apply the doctrines 
and facts of Scripture correctly, as occasion required. 

Additional light is shed upon this subject by the 
example and teachings of Paul. For instance, in his 
Epistle to the Galatians, the apostle emphatically 
declares that the gospel which he preached was not of 
human origin. " For," says he, " I neither received it 
of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation 



64 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

of Jesus Christ" Gal. i. 11, 12. This was specifically 
promised him by the Saviour when he was called and 
commissioned as the apostle to the Gentiles. Acts xxvi. 
16. Hence Paul repeatedly disclaims having received 
his knowledge of the gospel from the other apostles, and 
adds : — " When it pleased God — to reveal his Son in me, 
that I should preach him among the heathen, imme- 
diately I conferred not with flesh and blood : neither 
went I up to Jerusalem to them who were apostles before 
me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto 
Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jeru- 
salem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But 
other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's 
brother." Gal. i. 15-19. " Then fourteen years after, I 
went up again to Jerusalem. And I went up by revela- 
tion, and communicated unto them that gospel which I 
preached among the Gentiles. And when James, Cephas, 
and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace 
that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas 
the right hand of fellowship, that we should go unto 
the heathen, and they unto the circumcision." Gal. ii. 
1-9. 

Of the historical facts of the gospel made known to 
Paul by direct revelation, and which enabled him to 
dispense with the ordinary sources of information, we 
need only mention the institution of the Lord's Supper; 
the knowledge of which he expressly tells us had been 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 65 

communicated to him by Christ himself: "For I have 
received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto 
you." 1 Cor. xi. 23-26. Now the apostle repeatedly 
affirms that all his knowledge of the gospel had been 
thus revealed to him by Jesus Christ through the agency 
of the Holy Spirit ; and he claims that the same was 
true of his fellow apostles. 1 Cor. ii. 10-16. 

Moreover, the apostles and evangelists often quote 
and refer to each other's writings as inspired authority. 
Frequent instances of this occur in the Gospels, and also 
in the Epistles. For example, Peter expressly mentions 
the "Epistles " of Paul as of equal authority with " the 
other Scriptures" (2 Peter iii. 15, 16): "even as our 
beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given 
unto him, hath written unto you." The New Testament 
writers, like those of the Old Testament, made free use 
of all previous Scriptures. Thus they bear united testi- 
mony to the fact, that "All Scripture is given by inspi- 
ration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 
for correction, for instruction in righteousness ; that the 
man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto 
all good works." 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. 

Such are some of the Direct Proofs of Inspiration; 
draw T n, 1. From the Writings of Moses and the Prophets ; 
2. From the Teachings of the Saviour ; and 3. From the 
"Writings of the Apostles and Evangelists. 



E 



66 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

III. THE MOST PLAUSIBLE OBJECTIONS TO INSPIRATION. 

I. It is objected that much of the Bible consists of 
familiar narratives, which needed no inspiration. 

It is true that both the Old and the New Testaments 
have a historical basis, and many of the facts and inci- 
dents recorded were known to the sacred writers. It is 
also true that God made use of their faculties and 
knowledge in the composition of the Bible. But Inspi- 
ration was none the less necessary in recording the 
historical parts, than in recording pure revelations. 
Much of the Bible was not written until long after 
the events occurred, and Inspiration was indispensably 
necessary. Without divine direction and control, Moses 
could never have given a correct account of creation, 
and of the fall of man, the promise of a Saviour, etc. 
Nor could the evangelists have written the life of Christ 
as we have it, without the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 
We have only a synopsis of the doings and sayings of 
Jesus, and no being but God could have directed the 
sacred writers what to record and what not to record. 
No uninspired men ever lived, who could have compiled 
the Four Gospels as we now have them. The great object 
of the Gospel record w 7 as the salvation of lost men, and 
out of all that Jesus said and did, just enough was re- 
corded to serve that object. John xx. 30, 31. But God 
alone knew what was necessary to serve this important 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 67 

end. Hence Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to his 
disciples — to guide them in their great work. John 
xiv. 26; xvi. 13-15. The Spirit guided them in the 
choice of the words, as well as in the selection of the 
facts to be recorded; so that the entire Bible, including 
its narratives, truths, and words, was written by the 
Inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 

II. It is objected that the evangelists contradict each other 
in the Gospels. 

We admit that there are some statements in their nar- 
atives which may, at first sight, appear to be at vari- 
ance. But on careful examination, we find that they are 
not contradictory. For instance, take Matt. xx. 30; com- 
pared with Mark x. 46, and Luke xviii. 35. Matthew 
mentions two blind men, while Mark and Luke mention 
but one, without saying that there was no more than one. 
There is no contradiction, therefore, in the statements. 
Matthew is simply more full and specific in his statement. 
It is analogous to three witnesses in court — one is more 
circumstantial and full than the others ; but there is no 
discrepancy between them. 

Again, take Matt, xxvii. 5 ; compared with Acts i. 18. 
Matthew says that Judas " went and hanged himself" 
while Luke adds, that "falling headlong he burst asunder" 
Both statements were true. He first haneed himself. 



68 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

and then fell as Luke informs us. There is perfect 
harmony in the statements. 

Again, take Luke xxiv. 4; compared with Mark xvi. 
5. Luke mentions two men or angels at the sepulchre, 
but Mark mentions only the one that rolled away the 
stone and addressed the women. There is no discrepancy 
in the statements. Mark does not say there was only 
one, while Luke is more specific and mentions two. 

And, again, take Mark xv. 25 ; compared with John 
xix. 14. Mark says it was "the third hour" or nine 
o'clock in the morning, when they crucified Jesus ; but 
John says it was " about the sixth hour," or near twelve 
o'clock at noon. John is indefinite, and says it was about 
the sixth hour. The whole proceedings occupied several 
hours, and the two evangelists may refer to different 
stages of the transaction. Perhaps, the true explanation 
of this apparent discrepancy is, that Mark adheres to the 
Jewish custom of reckoning the day from sunrise, while 
John gives the Roman method of reckoning from mid- 
night, as we do. Even Strauss admits that this explana- 
tion is " possible." 

Now, the above are the principal passages in the Gos- 
pels that even seem to conflict, and they are all suscep- 
tible of a fair and satisfactory interpretation. We have 
but a synopsis of the many things that Jesus said and 
did, and hence are ignorant of many of the accompany- 
ing circumstances and facts. But if we admit the truth 






BIBLE INSPIKATION. 69 

of the Bible, we are bound to admit the testimony of the 
evangelists, though we might not be able to harmonize 
all their apparent discrepancies, none of which involve 
anything essential to salvation. Doubtless if we were in 
possession of all the facts in each case, we should have no 
difficulty in reconciling their statements. But all the 
ingenuity of learned infidels has not been able to show 
that the sacred historians have made a single mistake, 
nor that they contradict each other in their statements, 
here or elsewhere. See " Origin and Inspiration of the 
Bible" by Gaussen, pp. 207, etc. 

III. It is objected that Paul disclaims inspiration in 
some parts of his writings. 

This objection is based upon 1 Cor. i. 16; vii. 10-12, 
25, 40. In chapter i., Paul says he baptized certain per- 
sons at Corinth, and adds : " Besides, I know not whether 
I baptized any other;" and because he did not remem- 
ber, are we not to believe what he says? He was in- 
spired alike to tell us what he did remember and what 
he did not remember. Inspiration did not make him 
omniscient, but it insured the correctness of his state- 
ments. Jesus Christ, as man, knows not the day of 
judgment (Mark xiii. 32), though he possessed the Holy 
Spirit without measure. John iii. 34. This fact was re- 
corded by Inspiration, and is therefore true. 

In chapter vii., Paul says, " Unto the married I com- 
mand, yet not I, but the Lord;" "but to the rest speak 



70 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

I, not the Lord." The phrase, "not J, but the Lord" 
means, that not Paul only, but the Lord Jesus also had 
given instructions to married persons on the subject 
involved. " But to the rest speak I, not the Lord" i. e., 
Christ had not given specific directions to others in 
regard to marrying under peculiar circumstances, and 
hence Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 
proceeded to instruct them; nor was he mistaken in 
thinking that he was actuated and controlled by " the 
Spirit of God" Verse 40. 

"Now concerning virgins" etc. Verse 25. That is, the 
Lord Jesus Christ had given no express command con- 
cerning the marriage of virgins in times of great trials, 
and Paul, therefore, as an inspired apostle, advised them 
what to do, without giving a positive command. 

So far from disclaiming inspiration for any part of his 
writings, Paul expressly declares, "that the things that I 
write unto you are the commandments of the Lord" 1 
Cor. xiv. 37. 

IV. It is objected that the Bible contradicts Profane 
History. 

What if this were true? Which should yield, the 
word of God, or uncertain history ? But this is a mere 
assumption; we deny that the Bible anywhere contradicts 
trustworthy history. The apparent discrepancies relate 
not to facts, but merely to Chronology and numbers, 
which are confessedly uncertain. 



BIBLE INSPIEATION. 71 

On this point, however, there is great want of fairness. 
In ordinary writings, when authors disagree, men com- 
pare the evidence, and decide in favor of the one 
that has the preponderance. But not so in regard to 
the Bible and profane history. If any statement of 
Scripture seems to be at variance with that of an ordinary 
historian, it is taken for granted, without impartial and 
thorough examination, that the sacred narrative is false. 
Every presumption in favor of an uninspired writer is 
accepted without hesitation ; while every statement of an 
apostle or prophet is subjected to the most rigid and 
unscrupulous criticism. 

And of all books, the Bible is most exposed to such 
unfairness. It does not claim to be a connected history, 
nor to give things in chronological order. In fact, it 
scrupulously avoids touching on topics of common 
history, except where the sacred narratives absolutely 
require it. There are, however, some unavoidable points 
of contact, and skeptics have eagerly fastened on these 
disconnected allusions. 

For instance, Luke ii. 2, incidentally connects the 
birth of our Saviour with the first decree of Caesar 
Augustus to enroll all his provinces for taxation, and says 
that it occurred " when Cyrenius was governor of Syria." 
Strauss, and others, have boldly denied that Cyrenius was 
governor of Syria until some twelve years after the birth 
of Christ, and on the ground of this supposed mistake, 



72 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

they have denounced the credibility and inspiration of 
Luke's Gospel. But in the providence of Go'd, facts 
have recently come to light, proving that Cyrenius was 
governor of Syria twice, first at the birth of our Lord, 
and then again at a later period; thus confirming the 
truth of the sacred narrative. 

The same may be said of Paul's shipwreck on his 
voyage to Rome, recorded in Acts xxvii., which was 
denounced as irreconcilable with the geography of the 
Mediterranean. But a late English writer has thoroughly 
investigated the subject, and shown the wonderful accu- 
racy of Luke's nautical statements, so that to-day his 
supposed mistakes stand as monuments of the truthful- 
ness of the Acts of the Apostles. 

And Ave may here add, that the historical accuracy of 
the Bible is strengthening every year. Discoveries in 
Assyria and Babylon have of late cleared up many old 
difficulties, and doubtless all other difficulties will ere 
long be removed. Wonderful progress has already been 
made in this direction. 

V. It is objected that the Bible is at variance with physi- 
cal science. 

Now, the Bible does not pretend to teach science, nor 
does it address men in the language of science. It is not 
among the progressive sciences, though it is in advance 
of all science ; for it was perfect from the lips of its Di- 
vine Author. Hence the Bible has nothing to fear from 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 73 

the profoundest discoveries of science. The Author of 
nature is the Author of the Bible, and therefore the 
real facts of physical science can never conflict with the 
Sacred Scriptures, rightly interpreted. In the language of 
Lord Bacon, we say : " No one Truth can be contradic- 
tory to any other Truth ; " for Truth is the representation 
of things as they really are, and hence must be consistent 
with itself. 

When properly viewed, therefore, there is not, and 
never can be, any conflict between true science and the 
word of God. They are component parts of one grand 
whole, and their teachings must of necessity harmonize, 
whether men can see it or not. Christian ministers, 
therefore, should hail with delight every new discovery 
in physical science, as a contribution to theological 
science. The most distinguished scientists of Europe 
and America, though too often silent on the subject, are 
not the men who array science against Christianity. It 
is only the skeptical votaries of science, such as Dr. 
Draper, Huxley, Tyndall, and others, who undertake to 
disparage the Sacred Scriptures ; men who exalt reason 
above revelation, and would gladly rob the Bible of every 
thing supernatural, and degrade it to a level with their 
own idle speculations. 

Hence they assert that the discoveries in geology dis- 
prove the Mosaic account of creation. See Gen., chapters 
i, ii. The Book of Genesis is a mere compend of crea- 



74 BIBLE INSPIEATION. 

tion, and is addressed to our religious faith, and not to 
scientific curiosity. It assigns no date for the epoch of 
creation. It simply says — " In the beginning" referring 
to the commencement of all creation ; and then traces the 
successive steps by which our heaven and earth arose out 
of chaos, in six days, or periods, of indefinite duration. 
The word day is often used in the Bible to denote an 
indefinite period of time. See Deut. ix. 1 ; Psalms 
xxxvii. 13; cxxxvii. 7; Rom. xiii. 12; Heb. iii. 15. 
Moses first states that all things were created at a definite 
time, without fixing the date ; that all was created by 
the Almighty fiat of Jehovah, and not by chance or self- 
generation ; and then proceeds to give the order in which 
our part of creation was fitted up for the residence of 
man, in six successive days, or periods, beginning with 
inorganic matter and advancing from the lowest organ- 
isms to the highest, without so much as hinting at the 
duration of the six preparatory days, or periods. And 
science clearly teaches that our globe has passed through 
successive stages from chaos to its present state. 

Now the history of creation is phenomenal, and repre- 
sents things as they appear to human view, and not in 
scientific language. The ablest exposition we have of 
this " phenomenal " view, was given by Hugh Miller, in 
his " Testimony of the Rocks." And we may safely say 
that modern discoveries in science are in no way opposed 
to the Mosaic account of creation. 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. - 75 

Again, these votaries of science tells us, that Joshua x. 
12-14 contradicts modern science, and therefore cannot 
be true. Bear in mind the fact, that inspiration is not ' 
responsible for the truth or falsity of what is recorded, 
but merely for the correctness of the record itself. But this 
occurrence was clearly miraculous, and hence cannot be 
explained on the known principles of physical science. 
Joshua commanded the sun and moon to stand still, and 
to human view they obeyed him. We know from science 
that it was the earth that stood still, and not the sun and 
moon. It is a matter of no consequence whether Joshua 
understood this fact or not. The language is phenomenal, 
and represents the event merely as it appeared. So our 
Lord and all the sacred writers speak of the sun and 
moon as rising and setting, and so Newton and all true 
philosophers represent the sun and moon as they appear 
to human vision. The real opposition of these skeptical 
scientists is to the supernatural character of the events, 
and not to its apparent conflict with science. The real 
point in controversy, therefore, is the credibility of mir- 
acles, and not the inspiration of the Scriptures. 

Now, it has been clearly shown that the Bible, fairly 
interpreted, harmonizes with all the established facts of 
Astronomy, Ethnology, Geology, Metaphysics, and other 
sciences. But w T e must carefully distinguish between the 
known and settled facts of physical science, and the 
speculations of scientific men. Bible interpreters have 



76 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

often conceded too much to mere scientific speculations. 
There is not, and never can be, any conflict between the 
matured and real results of science and God's word, fairly 
interpreted. 

Yet infidel scientists tell us, that the Bible cannot be 
true, unless it can be harmonized with science. But we 
ask, What science? Ancient or modern? Science of a 
hundred years ago? Much of that all scientists now 
discard. Science of to-dayl* No doubt much that is now 
called science will be repudiated a hundred years hence. 
The fact is, no little of the so-called science of the day 
is not real science ; but merely the speculations of scien- 
tific men, which they themselves doubt. And it will be 
time enough to arraign God's word at the bar of science, 
when scientists themselves shall arrive at certain and un- 
questionable results. Thus far there is perfect harmony 
between the real meaning of Scripture and the real 
results of genuine and matured science; and, doubtless 
this will continue to be true to the end of time. 

But as the God of the Bible is the God of nature, we 
should study his character and will, both in his word 
and works. Though the Bible is perfect and not among 
the progressive sciences, still our knowledge of its un- 
fathomable truths may and should he progressive ; and no 
doubt coming generations, with increased facilities, will 
understand many things in the Scriptures far better than 
we possibly can at present. And probably a more j^er- 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 77 

feet knowledge of history and providence and science 
will contribute to that result. But certain it is that 
there is not now, and never can be, any real conflict 
between the Bible and true science. 

VI. It is objected that some parts of the Bible are in- 
decent, and hence not inspired. 

This is the old objection urged by Thomas Payne, in 
his " Age of Reason," which has been answered a thou- 
sand times. And it is the main objection urged to-day 
by other blatant infidels, who, like Payne, are ignorant 
of the pure teachings of the Bible. They oppose the 
holy book because it condemns their unholy characters 
and lives. There is nothing indecent or immoral in the 
Bible, taken in its connection and for the purpose for 
which it was given. As it is written: "All Scripture is 
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doc- 
trine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in 
righteousness." 2 Tim. iii. 16. 

But no good man or woman ever found anything in- 
decent or immoral in the Bible. The indecency is in the 
objectors, and not in God's holy word. As it is written : 
"Unto the pure all things are pure; but unto them that 
are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even 
their mind and conscience are defiled." Titus i. 15. The 
Bible is adapted to fallen man in every condition and 
relation of life ; and if some of its teachings were not 
designed for a promiscuous assembly, still they are neces- 



78 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

sary to life and godliness; just as a pure mother says 
many things to her children in private that she would 
not repeat in public. The Bible deals with human 
nature in all its various aspects and phases, and the very 
things that scoffing infidels denounce as indecent and 
immoral, are designed as solemn warnings against great 
evils, and solemn admonitions to important duties. They 
tend to restrain men from immorality and to make them 
holy. 

PRACTICAL DEDUCTIONS. 

Having briefly explained the nature of Bible Inspira- 
tion, and given some Direct Proofs of the doctrine, and 
answered the most plausible Objections to Inspiration, we 
close with a few Practical Deductions from the subject. 
Hence we learn : 

I. That the Inspiration of the Bible is both plenary and 
verbal. 

This is absolutely true of every part and parcel of the 
original Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, and it is approxi- 
mately true of translations into other languages. Our 
English Version, though susceptible of improvement, is 
in the main correct; and so far as it is a true representa- 
tion of the original Scriptures, to that extent it is divinely 
inspired, and no farther. Hence the inestimable value of 
the original text of Scripture, and the great importance 
of the most faithful translations into our own and all 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 79 

other languages. God in his providence, has entrenched 
his word in the original Hebrew and Greek, and being 
dead languages, they never can change. Hence transla- 
tions into other languages may be tested by this perfect 
and unchangeable standard, and to the end of time this 
infallible rule of faith and practice will direct our steps 
to happiness and heaven. 

The Inspiration of the Bible, therefore, is both plenary 
and verbal, extending alike to its thoughts and words, 
and hence it is the word, of God in the full sense of the 
term. There are no degrees in inspiration; the entire 
Bible and every part of it is inspired in the same sense 
and to the same extent And this is as true of the most 
trivial as it is of the most important parts, of incidental 
allusions as of fundamental truths, of familiar narratives 
as of pure revelations, of the language as of the thoughts : 
so that the whole record is equally inspired ; all having 
been made by the actuating, controlling, and guiding in- 
fluence of the Holy Spirit through the agency of the 
inspired writers. Hence the Bible is the word of God in 
matter and manner, language and style; as truly as "Par- 
adise Lost" was the product of John Milton, or the 
"Pilgrim's Progress" the work of John Bunyan. Ac- 
cordingly, Paul says: "All Scripture is given by inspira- 
tion of God" (2 Tim. iii. 16); "ivhich things we speak, 
not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which 
the Holy Ghost teacheth" 1 Cor. ii. 13. 



80 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

Speaking of these words of Paul, Dr. Thomas Armi- 
tage, of New York, says : " He not only attributes the 
substance of his revelation to the Holy Spirit, but also 
the words in which it was expressed. The things were 
taught in words, but these were not chosen by his own 
' wisdom/ they were ' taught by the Spirit,' so that the 
form of the revelation harmonized with the substance, 
the words with the things, and the things with the words. 
The Holy Spirit presided so jealously over the things 
which were put into Paul's manuscript, that he selected 
the words, in order that the apostle should commit no 
error in transmitting the things." 

Dr. Charles Hodge, in representing Paul as " clothing 
the truths of the Spirit in the words of the Spirit," says : 
"There is neither in the Bible nor in the writings of men 
a simpler or clearer statement of the doctrines of revela- 
tion and inspiration. Revelation is the act of commu- 
nicating divine knowledge to the mind. Inspiration is 
the act of the same Spirit controlling those who make 
the truth known to others. The thoughts, the truths 
made known, and the words in which they are recorded, 
are declared to be equally from the Spirit. This, from 
first to last, has been the doctrine of the Church, not- 
withstanding the endless diversity of speculations in 
which theologians have indulged on the subject. This, 
then, is the ground on which the sacred writers rested 
their claims. They were the mere organs of God. They 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 81 

were his messengers. Those who heard them heard God, 
and those who refused to hear them refused to hear God." 
(" Examiner," June 17, 1880). 

It is evident, therefore, that the Inspiration of the 
Bible is both plenary and verbal, including the ideas, 
words, and form, and it extends alike to the entire record, 
stamping the whole as " the word of God." In the lan- 
guage of Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, of London: "We cannot 
but express our sense of the superficiality of the best and 
most laborious of comments, when compared w T ith the 
bottomless depths of the sacred word, nor can we refrain 
from uttering our growing conviction that the Scriptures 
possess a verbal as well as a plenary inspiration ; indeed, 
we are quite unable to see how they could have the one 
without the other. So much of meaning dwells in the 
turn of an expression, the tense of a verb, or the num- 
ber of a noun, that we believe in the inspiration of the 
words themselves; certainly the words are the things writ- 
ten and the only things that can be written — for the 
refined spirit of a passage is not the creature of pen and 
ink, Our Lord's favorite sentence, 'It is written/ must 
of necessity apply to the words; for only words are writ- 
ten." 

True, the Inspiration of the writers and that of their 
writings were necessarily connected as cause and effect, 
and should never be separated. Inspired men spoke 
and wrote as they were directed and moved by the 

F 



82 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

Holy Spirit, and consequently what they spoke and 
wrote was thus given by inspiration of God, and there- 
fore is his word in thought, language, and form. 

Accordingly, J. M. Pendleton, b. d., says: "Now as 
to Inspiration in the writer and not primarily in the 
writings: How is this? A writer uses words in writing. 
How then can a writer be inspired and his words be 
uninspired? The inspiration he feels in his soul com- 
municates itself to what he writes, and this is the 
reason why we have the Bible. But to make the mat- 
ter still plainer, let us substitute speaking for writing. 
We read that ' holy men spoke as they were moved by 
the Holy Ghost/ or as the Anglo-American version 
has it, ' spoke from God, being moved by the Holy 
Ghost.' These men, these holy men, spoke from God; 
that is, what they said came from God. They were 
moved by the Holy Spirit to speak what they said. 
They could not speak without words, and therefore 
their words were inseparable from their inspiration. 
The distinction between ■ the inspiration of men and 
the inspiration of words spoken or written by them is 
obviously untenable." (Ford's "Christian Repository," 
December, 1883.) 

II. The Bible, like its Incarnate Author, is both divine 
and human, combined in harmonious and perfect union. 

It is thoroughly divine and thoroughly human, being 
assimilated and combined into one homogeneous organ- 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 83 

ism by the vital energy of the Holy Spirit, so as to con- 
stitute the entire Bible and every part of it the word of 
God. Every page bears unmistakable evidence of a 
divine and human element, so blended together as to 
form one harmonious whole. The Holy Spirit embraced 
the entire activity of the inspired writers, and so em- 
ployed their faculties and knowledge and language, as to 
render the whole Bible the word of God, while it bears 
the stamp of the human agents. 

Nor does the human element involve error or imper- 
fection in the Scriptures. This might have been so, but 
for the actuating and controlling influence of the Holy 
Spirit in and over the inspired writers. The union of 
the divine and human elements in the Bible is analogous 
to the incarnation of Jesus Christ, who was "as truly man 
as he was God, and yet one person, perfectly free from 
all error and sin. The Bible is holy and pure, and 
contains the whole truth without any mistake or error, 
because it was dictated by the Holy Spirit. 

And the divine and human elements in Scripture must 
be viewed in their true relations to each other. Both 
elements exist in the Bible, and both were necessary in a 
revelation from God to man. God's plan was to speak 
to man through man, and thus adapt his word to human 
comprehension. In the language of Dr. A. H. Strong, 
President of Rochester Theological Seminary, we say : 

" The exaggeration of the divine element seems to us 



84 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

as serious an error as the exaggeration of the human. . . 
When we lose sight of the real human authorship of the 
sacred books, we incur a loss comparable only to that 
which we should sustain by letting go the human side of 
our Redeemer's person. A great part of the power of 
the Bible over us, like the attraction of Christ, arises 
from its coming to us with the voice and the sympathies 
of our common humanity. Inspiration took into the 
account this fact. It therefore did not remove, but 
rather pressed into service, all the personal peculiarities 
of the writers, together with their defects of culture and 
literary style. In fact, every imperfection not incon- 
sistent with truth in a human composition may exist in 
inspired Scripture. The Bible is ' the word of God,' but 
we may also *say of it, in a peculiar sense, that it is • the 
word made flesh.' It presents to us truth in human 
forms. It is a revelation, not for a select class, but for 
the common mind. And rightly understood, this very 
humanity of the Bible is one of the best proofs of its 
divinity." (In " Examiner.") 

Hence it is evident that the Bible, like its Incarnate 
Author, is both human and divine, combined in harmo- 
nious and perfect union. 

III. The whole Bible is inspired, and therefore is the 
word of God, 

The Bible is one organized whole, embracing all its 
parts. The entire book, from Genesis to Revelation, as a 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 85 

unit, is God's word, each of whose parts is essential to 
the completeness of the whole, and all divinely inspired, 
and therefore a perfect revelation from God to man. 
Yet this truth is called in question, not only by skeptics, 
but by some misguided Christian ministers and writers. 
They admit the general truthfulness of the Bible, and 
say it " contains the word of God," while they deny the 
inspiration of such parts as do not suit their peculiar 
views. Especially is this the case with the Old Testa- 
ment, and the historical parts of the New. They differ 
widely as to what parts are inspired and what are not, 
and each accepts or rejects for himself, until the whole is 
virtually discarded. Now, we boldly affirm that the 
whole Bible, and every part of it, is divinely inspired, 
and therefore not only " contains " the word of God, but 
is itself his w 7 ord, embracing its matter, language, and 
form ; and this is equally true of the Old and the New 
Testaments. Let us, then, briefly notice some of the 
arguments in support of this view. 

(1) The Unity of the Bible is one strong proof of its 
divine origin and inspiration. In the truthful language 
of "The Examiner," we say: "No intelligent student of 
the Bible can have failed to notice its singular unity of 
spirit and purpose. Wonderful in its diversity of struc- 
ture beyond all other books, it is one in its grand under- 
lying thought. Like a great organ, it has its many stops, 
but under and supporting all is the mighty diapason note 



86 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

of redemption for fallen man. And this is one of the 
strongest proofs of the inspiration of the whole Bible." 

" This divine record, comprising the two great divisions 
of Old and New Testament, presents itself to the accept- 
ance of mankind as one organized whole ; as an elaborate 
structure whose various parts conspire to the attainment 
of one definite end, the entire edifice being constructed 
according to one grand design. That one end is the 
salvation of man — that grand design is the economy of 
Redemption." (Lee, " Inspiration of Scripture," p. 28. 
Also Westcott's " Introduction," p. 334.) 

As Home forcibly states the argument in his "Intro- 
duction to the Study of the Bible," we say : " In the 
Scriptures there is no dissent or contradiction. They 
are not a book compiled by a single author, nor by 
many hands acting in confederacy in the same age ; for 
in such case there would be no difficulty in composing a 
consistent scheme; nor would it be astonishing to find 
the several parts in a just and close connection. But 
most of the writers of the Scriptures lived at very dif- 
ferent times, and in distant places, through the long 
space of about sixteeen hundred years ; so that there 
could be no confederacy or collusion ; and yet their rela- 
tions agree with and mutually support each other. . . . 
The holy writers, men of different education, faculties, 
and occupations— prophets, evangelists, apostles — not- 
withstanding the diversity of time and place, the variety 






BIBLE INSPIRATION. 87 

of matter, consisting of mysteries of providence as well 
as mysteries of faith, yet all concur uniformly in carry- 
ing on one consistent plan of supernatural doctrines ; all 
constantly propose the same invariable truth, flowing 
from the same fountain through different channels, Can 
you find one writer contradicting the statements or 
opinions of his predecessor ? One historian who disputes 
any fact which another has stated ? Is there in the 
prophets any discrepancy in doctrines, precepts, or pre- 
dictions? However they vary in style, or manner, or 
illustration, the sentiment and the morality are the same. 
The same remarks apply to the New Testament. The 
leading doctrines of Christianity harmonize together; one 
writer may enlarge upon and explain what another has 
said, may add to his account, and carry it further; but 
he never contradicts him. . . . Whence, then, arises this 
harmony of Scripture? Had the writers been under no 
peculiar divine influence, they would have reasoned and 
speculated like others, and their writings w T ould have 
opposed each other. But if they were inspired — if they 
all spoke and wrote under the same Spirit — then is thi3 
harmony accounted for : and it is impossible to account 
for it on any other principle." 

And this unity of the Bible, in the words of Dr. Lange, 
" proves it to be the word of God. It exerts a power within 
and beyond itself; it sheds a light upon itself; it radiates 
its light from its mighty living centre — the world-redeem- 



88 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

ing Christ — to every part, and reflects it from each part 
to every other, and back upon the central truth again." 

(2) The Stamp of Inspiration is found on every page 
of the Bible. Not only in its wonderful unity of spirit 
and purpose do we see proof of the supernatural origin 
of the Bible, but in its matter, manner, and form, it bears 
"the image and superscription" of its Divine Author. 
Doubtless it was this mark of divine Inspiration that en- 
abled Ezra, " the scribe," to identify the several books of 
the Old Testament as we now have them, and to exclude 
the Apocryphal Books from the canon of revelation. 
And it was the same divine stamp that guided the serv- 
ants of God about the close of the first century, in 
selecting the inspired books of the New Testament, and 
in rejecting the many Apocryphal Gospels and Epistles 
from the canon of Scripture. The Bible is its own wit- 
ness, and stands alone among books. The sacred writ- 
ings of Pagan nations, whatever may be their excel- 
lences, bear unmistakable marks of their human origin. 

"The Bible alone," adds Dr. Bright, "supports its 
claim to be a revelation from God by its own intrinsic 
character. It deals with subjects transcending the utmost 
stretch of unaided human imagination, and always with 
a lofty simplicity and power of diction unequaled in the 
writings of any human author. Even the plainest his- 
torical records bear the impress of more than human 
intelligence. They are not continuous, but elective, and 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 89 

the facts narrated illustrate, not the history of a people, 
but 'the ways of God to men/ Frequently a single 
sentence covers an epoch. Personal biographies often 
occupy more space than the record of centuries. But 
through all this apparently unphilosophic arrangement, 
careful study shows us ' an eternal purpose.' Men do 
not thus write history ; those who wrote the Bible record 
were actuated by an influence working on them from 
without, and penned the word or preserved the record 
which divine wisdom intended for the instruction of 
mankind in all ages. 

" But more than this, the Bible shows its superhuman 
origin in the fact, that it is a heart-searching book. It 
not only makes known to us things which we could not 
possibly have discovered for ourselves — such as the crea- 
tion and the fall — but it reveals to us ourselves, and so 
completely satisfies the longings and necessities of our 
moral being that, by following its teachings, we may be 
consciously made better and higher in character and life. 
And this is as true of the Old as of the New Testament ; 
for while the latter points out the method, the former 
shows us the necessity of redemption from the bondage 
of sin. ' For the word of God is quick and powerful, and 
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the 
dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and 
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents 
of the heart/ Heb. iv. 12. 



90 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

"Furthermore, we have the evidence of fulfilled 
prophecy in proof of the Inspiration of the Old Testa- 
ment. The entire Old Testament is itself a prophecy of 
the New ; and teems with prophetic fore-looking, growing 
brighter and stronger as the ages passed, of the coming 
Saviour. None but he who sees the end from the begin- 
ning, and who orders everything after the counsel of his 
own will, could have so opened the secrets of the future 
to mortal vision. ' For the prophecy came not in old 
time by the will of man ; but holy men of God spake as 
they were moved by the Holy Ghost.' 2 Peter i. 21. 

" And finally, we see the stamp of Inspiration upon the 
Hebrew Scriptures in the thorough candor of its records. 
Its noblest characters are painted with a more than 
pre-Raphaelite realism. Their sins, their follies, their 
waywardness, as well as their noble traits, are unspar- 
ingly portrayed. There are no * heroes ' in the Bible, in 
the romantic sense. They are men ' of like passions with 
ourselves/ but ennobled and made great through a living 
faith in a living God." Heb., xi. chapter. 

(3) But the Old Testament in the New is the crown- 
ing proof of the divine origin and Inspiration of the 
Bible. (See pp. 38-65.) The Saviour and his apostles 
everywhere speak of the Old Testament Scriptures as 
the oracles of God, the Holy Scriptures, the word of God, 
and assert their divine authorship as the inspired source 
of spiritual knowledge and instruction in righteousness. 



BIBLE INSPIRATION. 91 

That the "Scriptures" thus designated are the books of 
the Old Testament, as we now have them, cannot be 
questioned. They existed in two forms — in the Hebrew 
originals and in a Greek translation, from both of which 
Christ and his apostles frequently quoted. The Old 
Testament, divided into " the Law, the Prophets, and 
the Psalms," was the great storehouse from which the 
Saviour, the evangelists, and the apostles drew their in- 
structions and proofs, to establish, illustrate, and sustain 
the truth and divine authority of the New Dispensation. 
They never doubted the divine origin and Inspiration of 
the Old Testament. They based their claims to be heard 
and obeyed upon its predictions respecting the Messiah, 
in whom all found their complete fulfillment. How 
strange, then, that any professed believer in Christ, and 
especially any professed minister of Jesus, should call in 
question these very Scriptures, upon which the Saviour 
himself rested the sole claims of his Messiahship ! 

Hence we see that the whole Bible is divinely inspired, 
and, therefore, is the infallible word of God. 

IV. Finally, we learn the claims of the Bible upon all, 
and especially upon Baptists. 

It is the inspired word of God, and therefore all should 
read and study it diligently, and endeavor to understand 
it. Those who can, should examine it in the original 
Hebrew and Greek; and all should study it in the most 
faithful versions, with the best helps they can obtain. 



92 BIBLE INSPIRATION. 

We are expressly commanded to " Search the Scrip- 
tures"; and to "let the word of Christ dwell in us 
richly." John v. 39 ; Col. iii. 16. 

It is also our duty to study and teach the Bible in our 
families, Sunday-schools, and churches, and to exemplify 
its truths in our lives. The Bible itself should be used 
by all, and not mere expositions, leaflets, and papers. 
There is no substitute for the Bible ; all should read and 
study the word of God for themselves. Small children 
may understand enough of the Holy Scriptures to make 
them wise unto salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus. 
2 Tim. iii. 15. And our spiritual growth depends essen- 
tially upon the pure milk of God's word. 1 Peter ii. 1-3. 
It fortifies us against temptation, and preserves us from 
all error and sin. Ps. cxix. 9, 11 ; 2 Peter i. 5; iii. 18. 

And of all people, the Baptists should love the Bible 
most, and seek to circulate it among all classes. It is 
our only authoritative creed, our only rule of faith and 
practice. The Bible, and the Bible alone, is the religion 
of Baptists. Our motto should be : " The word of God 
faithfully translated into all languages and dialects." 
And we should hold forth the word of life to those who 
are perishing for the lack of knowledge. We are under 
peculiar obligations to preach and send the Bible to 
every creature in all the world. 

THE END. 




BIBLE INSPIRATION; 




PLENARY AND VERBAL. 



BY 

W. W. GARDNER, D. D., 

AUTHOR OF " CHURCH COMMUKION," " MISSILES OF TRUTH," ETC. 



PHILADELPHIA • 

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